Offshore account holders face deadline

THE Revenue Commissioners are to launch a crackdown on thousands of people who held money in offshore accounts.

The Revenue has given them until March 29 to make a full settlement for their liability or face a full investigation. Based on figures from previous inquiries, the probe could net hundreds of millions for the Exchequer.

Tens of thousands of letters have been sent by the main Irish banks to customers who held offshore trusts in the 1980s and early 1990s, advising them to make a settlement with the Revenue.