On Wednesday, July 6, 2011, the Swiss government adopted standards on banking secrecy laid out by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, which will allow foreign authorities to pursue citizens suspected of using hidden Swiss accounts for tax evasion.

In Notice 2011-54, the IRS has extended the deadline for persons who have signature authority over, but no financial interest in, foreign financial accounts to file Form TD F 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). They now have until November 1, 2011, to report their signature authority over such accounts during 2009 and earlier years. The deadline for 2010, however, remains unchanged at June 30, 2011.

IRS Posts New Frequently Asked Questions for the 2011 OVDI Program

U.S. government decided to prosecute a taxpayer who made a so-called “quiet disclosure” of his offshore account at HSBC.

On April 7, 2011, the U.S. Justice Department asked a federal district court in San Francisco to force HSBC USA to disclose the names of their U.S. customers suspected of having secret bank accounts in India.

The IRS issued a new notice, Notice 2001-31, providing guidance to taxpayers on how they should answer questions on their 2010 federal income tax and information returns relating to foreign financial accounts (FFAs).

U.S. Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service announced that four Swiss bankers, all working at some point for Credit Suisse Group, were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia and charged with conspiring with other Swiss bankers to defraud the United States.

On Tuesday, February 8, 2011, the Internal Revenue Service announced a new amnesty program for taxpayers with hidden offshore bank accounts. The new Voluntary Disclosure Initiative is intended to bring people with unreported offshore income and undisclosed offshore accounts back into compliance.

U.S. prosecutors have charged an ex-UBS banker with tax fraud for encouraging his wealthy American clients not to disclose to U.S. tax authorities that they had money in offshore accounts.

Igor Drabkin to Speak at the FBAR Seminar