February 12 2021

US Grand Jury Indicts US Individual for Tax Evasion and Failure to Report Foreign Bank Accounts

Source: IBFD Tax Research Platform News

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that a US federal grand jury indicted (i.e. charged) a US individual with tax evasion and failure to file Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs), among other offenses. The announcement was made in a DOJ News Release dated 10 February 2021.

According to the News Release, the US individual allegedly:

  • failed to disclose her interest in a Swiss bank account on annual FBARs for calendar years 2012 through 2014;
  • evaded assessment of income taxes on the interest and dividend income that she earned in her Swiss bank account for tax years 2011 through 2014; and
  • failed to file income tax returns for tax years 2011 through 2014.

If convicted, the US individual faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each count relating to her failure to file an FBAR and tax evasion. She also faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison for each count concerning the failure to file tax returns.