Today the GAO released a study wherein they looked at the ability of the IRS to track and then pay awards on monies that are collected by the Government relating to “FBAR” violations. Recall that FBAR stands for the “Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts” and it represents information and return reporting requirements and associated penalties for violations thereof under Title 31’s Bank Secrecy Act. The law on whistleblower awards changed on February 9, 2018 in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, Pub. L. 115-123, div. D, title II, §41108(a)-(c) Feb. 9, 2018, 132 Stat. 158, so that monies that are paid under those provisions can represent “proceeds” (as defined in section 7623(c)) under section 7623(b) if the whistleblower’s information made a substantial contribution to the collection of these amounts. So if you have information about FBAR violations, you should consider reporting that to the IRS for an award.
But the GAO reports that things are not so easy in IRS-land. The report itself is here: https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/694825.pdf Specifically, before the law changed the IRS did not even collect information from agents about whether or not monies were collected under Title 31 as a result of a whistleblower’s information. So you may have to look in the IRS files to determine this, which means going through the administrative award determination procedure at best, or litigation with the IRS at worst. We have done and are currently doing both of those things on behalf of our whistleblower clients. Be prepared to do the same by getting representation early on in the process, preferably before filing anything so that your IRS filing properly documents your claim.
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