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Wealthy Americans Targeted by U.S. in Panama Tax-fraud Probe

Richard Marley
July 30, 2021
2 minutes read
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Financial authorities in the US obtained a legal mandate to acquire information about wealthy citizens using offshore havens in Panama to evade taxes. Regulators can now demand banks, couriers and other related institutions to provide them with necessary information to crackdown against money laundering much effectively and to implement anti money laundering compliance better.

The federal tax collection department – Internal Revenue Service – is now able to receive information regarding digital transactions and courier deliveries carried out by Americans with the law corporation, Panama Offshore Legal Services, as per the Justice Department’s statement on Thursday, July 29.

The administration further elaborated that IRS aims to identify customers involved in creating overseas accounts to transfer and store assets. Audrey Strauss, the Manhattan US Attorney stated that,

“We continue our joint efforts with the IRS to investigate tax evaders who use foreign financial accounts and sham foreign entities to hide their assets”

An order improvised by Gregory Woods, the US District Judge, permitted IRS to declare judicial writs to Clearing House Payments Company, DHL Express, Wells Fargo National Association Bank, FedEx Corporation, Federal Reserve Bank of America, United Parcel Service Inc., HSBC Bank, and the Bank of America.

The legal document proposes that the above-mentioned entities must take relevant measures to determine tax violations incurred by customers with an unknown identity. Woods also countenanced the “Jon Doe summonses” allowing US regulators and watchdogs to acquire names, financial records and other essential information of US taxpayers.

Katy Fuentes, an IRS Revenue Agent in a declaration on May 4 stated that the Panama Offshore Legal Services (POLS) used services of Bank of America, HSBC, Wells Fargo, and US Citibank to use correspondent accounts.

Disclaimer: No warranty is herein provided that the information contained in this document is accurate, up-to-date, and/or complete. In no circumstance(s), does such information constitute legal or any other advice. Any person who intends to use, rely, pass-on, or re-publish the information contained herein in any way is solely responsible for the same. We suggest to verify the information and/or obtain expert advice independently if required.

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UK Publishes First National Risk Assessment of Proliferation Financing
The UK is at a high risk of proliferation financing for Korea and Iran, while UK financial institutions remain the main target.

The UK has published its first national risk assessment (NRA) of proliferation financing risks, following the collection of views and evidence from the government, private sector, and academic and research partners, highlighting the proliferation financing risks facing the UK.

The UK is one of the first jurisdictions to carry out such an assessment.

While the UK currently has robust practices in place for combating proliferation financing activities, malign actors involved in proliferation financing seek to exploit the UK’s stability in the global economy and international financial system. The act involves the use of funds for facilitating chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) programmes which pose a threat to the UK’s national security objectives and threaten international peace.

The key findings of the proliferation financing NRA have been identified as the following:

The UK’s financial sector is at high risk from proliferation actors. The UK’s financial services industry, particularly the banking and insurance sectors, is especially at risk

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Iran are the most significant proliferation financing actors at the state level

The private sector has limited awareness regarding proliferation financing compared to other risks, such as money laundering and terrorist financing

The notice issued by the UK government states that “a lack of awareness of proliferation financing in parts of the UK economy can lead to a lack of understanding of how certain industrial products, for example, may be manipulated for hostile use or for use in a CBRN programme”.

Despite the above-mentioned threats, the NRA highlights the robust counter-proliferation legal framework in place in the UK that protects the country from proliferation financing.

The UK’s autonomous financial sanctions regimes targeting CBRN proliferation, as well as other regulations in the UK, including UN sanctions regimes, export control regimes, and other tools available to the UK Government, limit opportunities for proliferating actors to exploit the UK to obtain financing for CBRN capabilities.

The full assessment can be viewed here.

Suggested Read: FATF Issues New Guidance on Mitigating Proliferation Financing Risk

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Merchant Onboarding - Evaluating the Best Practices to Onboard Risk-free Partners
Partnering with the right people who can actually help your business grow is quite a tedious task these days. Perpetrators are everywhere, and you never know when a shell company gets in touch with you with a phenomenal investment plan, and once partnered, causes you to lose sensitive information A UK Finance report reveals that business fraud losses totalled $4.2 billion in 2020. The 2021 business fraud cases reported to various regulatory authorities indicate a sharp rise in fraudulent activities. On the contrary, regulatory authorities are working on imposing rigid regulations for onboarding legitimate suppliers and shareholders. Given these circumstances, we have a solution that can help you identify imposters in seconds. Read this blog to find out.

What is Merchant Verification?

Verifying corporate entities before partnering with them is referred to as merchant verification. Also known as Know Your Business (KYB) verification, the process screens intermediaries and shareholders against global watchlists to make sure the company is not dealing with any high-risk entity.
Regulatory Approach to Merchant Onboarding

Every region across the globe has a specific set of rules and regulations for businesses, and effective compliance with these regulations makes it easier to combat criminals. Here are some regulations from different corners of the world that must be considered while onboarding an intermediary, supplier or shareholder.

FATF’s Recommendations

As per the Recommendation 24 of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), countries must undertake necessary Know Your Business measures to prevent the misuse of legal persons in money laundering and terror financing. Timely information about the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) must be obtained and reported to the relevant regulatory authority of the country. To meet all the FATF’s requirements, businesses can opt for one or more of the following mechanisms for UBO verification:

Acquire registries of the company to get updated information on the beneficial ownership of the company (the Registry Approach)

Companies can obtain updated UBO information on the other organisation’s beneficial ownership (the Company Approach)

Employing existing information (the Existing Information Approach), including:

Information that FIs and DNFBPs obtained following the Recommendation 10 and 22 (R.10 and 22)

Information obtained by other authorities on the beneficial ownership of the company

Information available on stock exchanges about the company

Suggested: 40 recommendations of FATF – Shaping the future of your business

6AMLD in the EU

The sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (6AMLD) holds employees and officials of the organisation, or any other person working on behalf of the company, liable for verification. Facilitating the illicit flow of funds will result in the entity to be criminally charged. Under the 6AMLD, the following are due diligence requirements that must be fulfilled:

Identifying the beneficial owner and verifying the identity using legal documents, data or information acquired from independent and credible sources

After identifying, taking reasonable measures to perform enhanced due diligence protocols in case of a high-risk entity is compulsory for the company

Conducting ongoing monitoring of the corporate entity and maintaining updated risk profiles of the business entities is important

Transactions must be regularly scrutinized throughout the business relationship to make sure transactions are consistently conducted

Transaction monitoring must also verify the source of funds and the region they are being transferred to/from

Recommended: 6AMLD of EU – A detailed insight

Corporate Transparency Act in the US

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) directs the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to maintain a national record of the Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs). Moreover, any changes in the UBOs must be immediately reported to the regulatory authority. The purpose of this act is to eliminate shell companies and financial crimes like money laundering and terrorism financing.

According to this Act, a beneficial owner is anyone:

Who owns 25% or more equity shares in the company

Has substantial control over the organisation

Benefits from the company’s assets

Henceforth, verifying all these entities is important for the company. The Act categorises FATF’s recommendations regarding beneficial ownership for legal persons and as per the Act, the following information about UBOs must be reported to FinCEN:

Date of birth of the owner

Owner’s complete legal name

Business address (residential is also acceptable)

Unique identification number on the passport, driving licence or ID card

Apart from all these requirements, the company has to submit an annual report of the current UBOs along with any changes in the beneficial owner details.

Recommended: Corporate Transparency Act – The Road to Better AML Compliance

How Shufti Pro is Helping Businesses Onboard Legitimate Merchants

Considering the significant increase in financial crime through shell companies, Shufti Pro is assisting businesses in verifying other corporate entities like shareholders and suppliers. Know Your Business (KYB) verification is what companies need to combat the rapid increase in money laundering. The AI-powered KYB solution for businesses runs multiple background checks on a corporate entity. The identity is screened against 140+ global commercial registers and jurisdictions. With access to data of more than 200 million companies, Shufti Pro provides 98.6% accurate business verification results in less than 30 seconds.
In a Nutshell…

FinCrime through shell companies and imposters has been a problem for the corporate sector for years. Money launderers that pretend to be potential investors and shell companies approaching with fascinating partnership opportunities has become the oldest trick in the book. Unfortunately, many companies still fall prey to these activities, resulting in hefty financial losses, exposure of confidential data, and a damaged brand reputation. With numerous laws in place to combat money laundering and terror financing, there must be an adequate solution in place for screening every entity before developing any business relationships. Shufti Pro’s AI-backed business verification is what every firm needs at the moment. It will not only help you screen partners and intermediaries, but also assist you in staying compliant with the rigid KYB regulations.

Want to know more about how Shufti Pro’s KYB solution works? Get your free trial right away!

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Wealthy Americans Targeted by U.S. in Panama Tax-fraud Probe

Regulatory Approach to Merchant Onboarding

FATF’s Recommendations

6AMLD in the EU

Corporate Transparency Act in the US

How Shufti Pro is Helping Businesses Onboard Legitimate Merchants

In a Nutshell…

Let’s prove your

customer’s identity

with Shuftipro.

Let’s prove your customer’s

identity with Shuftipro.

Wealthy Americans Targeted by U.S. in Panama Tax-fraud Probe

What is Merchant Verification?

Regulatory Approach to Merchant Onboarding

FATF’s Recommendations

6AMLD in the EU

Corporate Transparency Act in the US

How Shufti Pro is Helping Businesses Onboard Legitimate Merchants

In a Nutshell…

Let’s prove your

customer’s identity

with Shuftipro.

Let’s prove your customer’s

identity with Shuftipro.