There seems to be a convergence by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Networks (FinCEN), the Treasury Department and the IRS for determining “who is the UBO” of entities. The U.S. Government is determined to enforce financial...more
1/15/2018
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Beneficial Owner ,
BSA/AML ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Ownership ,
IRS ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Required Forms ,
Tax Planning ,
U.S. Treasury
On August 22, 2017, FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) published a new Advisory regarding Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) covering residential real estate transactions in certain counties or boroughs of New...more
10/16/2017
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Cash Transactions ,
Covered Transactions ,
FinCEN ,
Geographic Targeting Order ,
GTO ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Money Laundering ,
Popular ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Shell Corporations ,
Tax Evasion ,
Wire Transfers
Taxpayers with unreported foreign financial assets and income run the risk of having the Government determine if their conduct was willful or non-willful. The definition of “Willful" or "non-willful” in Taxpayer’s conduct...more
Under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a “Fifth Pillar” of the Final Customer Due Diligence (CDD) Rule on May 2016. The covered financial institutions (Banks; Brokers or...more
The Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) is not a tax form. Its filing is not required by the Internal Revenue Code. It is required by Title 31 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Title 31 is the Bank Secrecy...more
6/19/2017
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
FATCA ,
FBAR ,
Filing Requirements ,
Foreign Bank Accounts ,
Foreign Financial Accounts ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
OVDP ,
Tax Penalties
The US taxes its citizens and permanent residents on their worldwide income regardless of where they live or how long they’ve lived outside of the US. There is only one other country in the world that operates like the US –...more
2/9/2017
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Citizens ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
FATCA ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Lawful Permanent Residents ,
Multinationals ,
Tax Crimes ,
Tax Fraud
Bank Secrecy Act of 1970
- Requires U.S. financial institutions to assist U.S. government agencies to detect and prevent money laundering by keeping records of cash purchases of negotiable instruments, and file reports...more
10/14/2016
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
BSA/AML ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
FATF ,
FBAR ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Money Laundering ,
Patriot Act ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Required Forms ,
Risk Management ,
Sanctions ,
Shell Corporations ,
Surveillance ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Terrorism Funding ,
Terrorist Threats ,
Wiretapping
Because they are known as “gatekeepers” in the financial industry, Professional Service Providers (PSPs), Bankers, Brokers, Realtors, Casino Managers, Trust Fund Managers, Money Managers, etc., carry a level of responsibility...more
8/8/2016
/ Accountants ,
AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Due Diligence ,
FATF ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Real Estate Agents ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
Otherwise reputable Financial Institutions continue being sanctioned for regulatory non-compliance. Well known “household” names continue receiving fines for failing to establish and implement adequate Anti-Money Laundering...more
7/29/2016
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure to Report ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fines ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Personal Liability ,
Suspensions ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
Something that most of us don’t realize is that Internal Revenue Service has stated that the taxpayer is responsible to learn IRS requirements within the historic U.S. framework of a voluntary reporting system.
The IRS...more
On May 9, 2016, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its first FATCA conviction. It appears to be the beginning of criminal prosecutions by the DOJ against apparent or alleged violations of FATCA reporting requirements....more