Deregulation of Euro Pacific Bank and UK tax evasion

At the beginning of July, HMRC announced that an international investigation had led to the deregulation of the Euro Pacific Bank in Puerto Rico.

Euro Pacific Bank is accused of facilitating tax evasion and of money laundering on a global scale.

HMRC has explicitly said that it believes there are hundreds of UK taxpayers that have not only used the services of Euro Pacific Bank, but have done so to evade paying UK taxes.

HMRC has already launched criminal investigations into the suspected evasion, and it’s likely there’ll be more to come. It has encouraged individuals who’ve engaged with Euro Pacific Bank to come forward before becoming the subject of an HMRC investigation.

The Worldwide Disclosure Facility provides taxpayers with opportunities to pro-actively declare historical discrepancies in relation to offshore matters to HMRC. By making an unprompted disclosure, the taxpayer can expect to receive more favourable treatment from HMRC than those who are forced to comply with an investigation.

For anyone worried about criminal prosecution, in the right circumstances the Contractual Disclosure Facility provides an opportunity to secure immunity from prosecution in exchange for co-operation and full disclosure.

Our team of tax dispute resolution specialists is made up of fully qualified HM Inspectors of Taxes and Charter Tax Advisors. They have significant experience in managing disclosures through the Worldwide Disclosure Facility and the Contractual Disclosure Facility.

To speak with us in confidence about your account with Euro Pacific Bank, and to find out more about how our specialist tax and investigation team can help, please call us on +44 (0)800 032 8374 or email us at taxdisputes@rsmuk.com.