It has been known for some time that Credit Suisse was the latest target in the crosshairs of the IRS and Department of Justice for hiding money on behalf of U.S. taxpayers. Today’s Wall Street Journal article, Credit Suisse to Hand Over Account Data, provided the latest twist to the story – that the Swiss bank has apparently started to turn over names of U.S. taxpayers with hidden accounts, and also that the bank itself may be facing hundreds of millions of dollars in fines for their role in helping these taxpayers evade U.S. taxes. While the UBS offshore banking scandal last year appears to all have been prompted by a whistleblower, there is no indication that Credit Suisse had an insider helping the IRS, although it certainly is possible. Insiders at other offshore banks who have U.S. taxpayers as customers with accounts that are intentionally or inadvertently not disclosed to the U.S. authorities should take notice: the window of opportunity to get an award for being a whistleblower under U.S. law is getting smaller as the IRS targets more and more financial institutions.
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