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A Glimmer of Hope for Lower Criminal and Civil FBAR Penalties
The year 2010 will go down in history as the year the great wall of Swiss bank secrecy officially collapsed. On June 17, 2010, the Swiss Parliament ratified the settlement agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and UBS AG, and the process of turning over the names and Swiss banking information of approximately 4,450 U.S. taxpayers began. For taxpayers who missed the opportunity to participate in the Internal Revenue Service's special Off-shore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP), which ended in October 2009, the chance of criminal prosecution is high.
This article addresses the potential penalties facing taxpayers with undisclosed foreign accounts and focuses in particular on the draconian penalties being issued across the board for failure to file Form TDF 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts ' commonly referred to as an “FBAR.” And we also discuss a recent decision out of the Eastern District of Virginia, which provides some small hope that the government will begin to exhibit a bit of flexibility in its approach to FBAR penalties.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.