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Press Release

After UBS Produces Singapore-Based Documents, Justice Department Dismisses Summons Case

For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs

UBS AG has complied with an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) summons for bank records held in its Singapore office, the Justice Department announced today.  Because UBS has now produced all Singapore-based records responsive to the request and the IRS determined that UBS complied with the summons, the Justice Department has voluntarily dismissed its summons enforcement action against the bank.

The IRS served an administrative summons on UBS for records pertaining to accounts held by Ching-Ye “Henry” Hsiaw.  According to the petition, the IRS needed the records in order to determine Hsiaw’s federal income tax liabilities for the years 2006 through 2011.  Hsiaw transferred funds from a Switzerland-based account with UBS to the UBS Singapore branch in 2002, according to the declaration of a revenue agent filed at the same time as the petition.  UBS refused to produce the records, and the United States filed its petition to enforce the summons.

“The Department of Justice and the IRS are committed to making sure that offshore tax evasion is detected and dealt with appropriately,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Tax Division.  “One critical component of that effort is making sure that the IRS has all of the information it needs to audit taxpayers with offshore assets.  In this case, we filed a petition to enforce a summons for offshore documents, but that’s only one of the tools we have available for gathering information.  Taxpayers with offshore assets who underreported their income should come forward before we come looking for them.”

The Tax Division aggressively pursues offshore tax evasion.  More information is available online about the Division’s Offshore Compliance Initiative and its Swiss Bank Program.  

Updated June 22, 2016

Topic
Tax
Component
Press Release Number: 16-731