Bank officials targeted in tax probe

BANK officials who advised and assisted customers to evade tax will be prosecuted, Justice Minister Michael McDowell has warned.

Mr McDowell said it was clear both customers and finance officials were involved in deliberately avoiding tax through complex offshore schemes. He said those guilty must be brought to justice.

Last week, the Revenue Commissioners said it was investigating all banks who had illegal offshore accounts. It is estimated financial institutions could have as much as €4 billion belonging to Irish residents in accounts in the Channel Islands.

“It is my view that the bogus DIRT thing was a huge scam and that banks did participate in trying to recruit people to those schemes and are therefore culpable,” Mr McDowell said.

Giving the strongest indication yet that the Government was determined to investigate individuals as well as institutions, Mr McDowell said he would like to see all involved investigated.

“We can’t simply walk away from massive billion euro evasion programmes and simply say these things happen,” he said.

Mr McDowell was speaking after the bogus and non-resident accounts scandal scaled new heights last week as it was revealed that Revenue will recover €1 billion from tax evaders.

On his return to the Dáil yesterday, after spending a week in Mountjoy jail, Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins hit out at tax avoidance saying no one had ever been arrested despite the massive scandals coming to light.

“It is six years since the massive tax evasion scam by the Ansbacher criminals came to light. Ansbacher man has never darkened the doorway of a courthouse let alone found himself behind prison walls,” he said.

“The chairman of the Revenue Commissioners now says the amount stolen from the tax fund by the largest tax evasion racket ever seen in the history of the State and probably of the European Union which was organised by some of the largest banks and financial institutions is moving towards €1 billion.

"Not a single board member has been in front of a court let alone in jail for this monstrous theft,” Mr Higgins added.

At last week’s Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee, Revenue chairman Frank Daly said groupings or institutions found to be involved in facilitating tax evasion would be pursued.