Law enforcement leaders from five countries have joined efforts in their fight against international tax crime and money laundering. The new “Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement” (J5) brings together tax enforcement authorities from Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the U.K. and the U.S. to develop new strategies in the pursuit of cyber criminals, tax cheats and their enablers.
The fight against international tax crime and money laundering has just been stepped up a notch. A new alliance of tax enforcement authorities from Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the U.K. and the U.S. has been formed “to ensure that no organized criminal or tax cheat is beyond [their] reach.”
In 2017, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued a publication entitled Fighting Tax Crime: The Ten Global Principals, which set forth guidelines for criminal tax organizations worldwide to “collaborate, communicate, and cooperate to combat illicit financial flows.” In response, the new “Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement” (J5) was formed by the heads of tax crime and senior officials from five countries:
- United States – Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations Unit (IRS-CI)
- Canada – The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
- U.K. – Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
- Australia – The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) and Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
- The Netherlands – The Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (Fiscale inlichtingen- en opsporingsdienst, or FIOD)
The J5 representatives met in June 2018 to hear their countries’ leading experts on tax and other financial crimes. This was followed by the development of tactical plans and identification of opportunities to pursue those who engage in tax evasion and transnational tax crime, particularly if they utilize cryptocurrency.
The goals of J5 are to:
- Enhance investigation programs,
- Identify new targets for investigation,
- Improve tactical intelligence,
- Help the wider community develop a better understanding of the risks of offshore tax crime and cybercrime, and
- Raise international awareness of the J5’s work in combatting international tax crime, cybercrime and money laundering (as well as serving as a warning to individuals who plan to commit these offenses).
In the near future, we should expect to see an increase in the sharing of data and technology amongst tax enforcement authorities worldwide, who are taking advantage of their collective capabilities to jointly tackle increasingly sophisticated global tax schemes and stop people from manipulating the system for their own personal gain.
U.S. criminal tax attorneys
The tax attorneys at Moskowitz, LLP have extensive experience defending individuals who have been charged with international criminal tax offenses and cybercrime involving cryptocurrency. Contact our California offices today for a consultation.