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Commerzbank Frankfurt Offices Raided in Widening Tax Scandal

Commerzbank AG’s offices in Frankfurt were searched Tuesday as German authorities continued their investigations into a widening tax scandal involving multiple global lenders. The raids are tied to controversial trading practice across the industry known as Cum-Ex, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who asked not… Read More

Court Rules Leaked Documents Are Fair Game in Tax Case Against Glencore

Australia’s top court has rejected a move by one of the world’s most profitable companies to stop government officials from using leaked documents to assess its tax bill. Australia’s High Court ruled unanimously on Wednesday that commodity giant Glencore could not rely on “legal privilege” to prevent the Australian Tax… Read More

HSBC agrees to 300 mln euro settlement of Belgian tax fraud case: prosecutors

HSBC’s Swiss private banking arm has agreed to pay nearly 300 million euros ($336 million) to settle a tax fraud case in Belgium, Belgian prosecutors said on Tuesday, the latest blow for the Alpine state’s banking sector from the EU. The settlement comes after a French court in February ordered… Read More

30th July 2019

UBS Whistle-Blower Hunts Trillions Hidden in Treasure Isles

John Christensen called Jersey home. A native of the scenic isle off England’s southern coast, he was a government economist with a hillside villa that had views of France. “I was set,” Christensen said last month in an interview at a London cafe. “We had a pretty good lifestyle and… Read More

11th June 2019

OECD Program Uncovers €4.9 Trillion in Offshore Holdings

An intergovernmental initiative to crack down on tax cheats has uncovered €4.9 trillion (USD 5.5 trillion) held offshore for individual and corporations in approximately 47 million bank accounts. The data, published Friday by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), is the result of a broader effort by the… Read More

7th June 2019

Prosecutors suspect 70 Deutsche Bank managers in dividend tax probe: paper

German prosecutors have extended an investigation into a tax-stripping scheme, with around 70 current and former executives of Deutsche Bank now being treated as suspects, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Thursday. Among those suspected by the Cologne prosecutor’s office is Garth Ritchie, the head of Deutsche’s investment banking arm, the… Read More

29th May 2019

British overseas territories top corporate tax loophole index

Britain’s offshore territories the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Bermuda and the Cayman Islands were named in a study released on Wednesday as the most significant jurisdictions used by global companies to minimise their tax bills. Governments are stepping up efforts to recoup more tax from multinationals, with the European Commission… Read More

15th March 2019

UAE on EU tax blacklist because of poor communication, UAE banker says

The European Union’s decision to include the United Arab Emirates on its blacklist of tax havens was caused by “lack of communication” between the EU and the UAE government, the head of the UAE Banks Federation said. European Union governments updated a blacklist of tax havens this week, adding the… Read More

14th March 2019

EU updates tax haven blacklist, adds UAE, Bermuda

The European Union has published its updated list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, dubbed the tax haven blacklist, adding ten jurisdictions to the existing five states. The new additions include Bermuda and the UAE. “Those jurisdictions did not implement the commitments they had made to the EU by… Read More

6th March 2019

EU to broaden tax haven blacklist, weighs UAE, Bermuda listing

European Union states have added 10 jurisdictions to a draft tax haven blacklist, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bermuda, an EU official told Reuters on Tuesday, in a move that would triple the number of listed countries. The measure comes more than one year after the bloc decided… Read More

6th March 2019

UK and Spain back new tax rules for Gibraltar

AP—Spain and Britain have reached an agreement that sets out stricter rules for companies and citizens operating from Gibraltar, a British overseas territory which Spain considers a colony. As part of the deal, Gibraltar-based companies will be required to pay taxes in Spain if they conduct most of their… Read More

13th February 2019

EU smaller states say no to end of veto on tax reforms

Finance ministers from smaller European Union states on Tuesday opposed a plan to limit governments’ power to block EU reforms on tax matters, in a move that further reduces the chances of introducing an EU levy on large digital firms. EU countries with smaller populations have for years blocked efforts… Read More

7th February 2019

Mourinho fined for tax fraud in Spain in lieu of jail time

Former Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has accepted a one-year prison sentence for defrauding the Spanish state of 3.3 million euros (2.8 million pounds), a Spanish court filing showed on Tuesday, although the Portuguese will not serve any jail time. The filing said the tax ministry and Mourinho’s defence team… Read More

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