Tax evaders give up €700m

THE Revenue Commissioners have recovered more than €700m from tax dodgers and warned there is no safe place for hot money.

The crackdown on bogus non-resident accounts alone has yielded €634 million. Revenue said most of the offenders would be identified and penalised by the end of the year.

A further €65m was recovered from Ansbacher and the Clerical Medical Insurance/National Irish Bank tax evasion scams.

Speaking at the launch of the Revenue’s annual report, chairman Frank Daly warned tax dodgers that there are no longer any safe havens for hot money, whether offshore or onshore.

“My message to these people is simple: come to Revenue before Revenue comes to you. The consequences of not doing so are likely to be very serious,” he warned.

In the past three weeks, 281 people with overseas trusts have contacted Revenue. Of those, 254 were with Bank of Ireland Trust Company Jersey, while a further 27 individuals had hot money in other offshore jurisdictions.

Most of these were flushed out after the bank wrote to them suggesting they inform Revenue of their Jersey trusts. More than €8m has been recovered already this year.

It was also disclosed yesterday that €18m has been collected following 80 inquiries emerging out of the Moriarty and Flood tribunals.

However, Revenue has been less successful tracking Ansbacher accounts. Just €23.6m has ben collected in respect of 73 cases, from a total of 289 uncovered by the investigation, which started back in late 1999. So far, only 11 cases have been finalised.

“Ansbacher is probably one of the most difficult investigations we have undertaken, with many people refusing to engage with us,” Mr Daly said.

In the case of CMI/National Irish Bank, 373 cases have been settled, bringing in a total of €45.94m to date.

Mr Daly confirmed two other financial institutions would be investigated in relation to offshore trusts, but refused to give further details.

Last year, three convictions for serious tax evasion were secured by the Revenue. Fines were imposed in all cases and one defaulter got a suspended prison sentence. This year to date there have been four further convictions, with 31 cases under investigation with a view to prosecution.