Liechtenstein’s foundations are now required to have on site all information related to the beneficial account owners, regardless of where the assets are held, according to Gey.
Not every tax haven is being as compliant as Liechtenstein. Neighboring Switzerland, the world’s largest offshore banking center, has so far resisted a tax evasion settlement or an agreement with the U.S. on Fatca.
The U.S. Justice Department has been investigating at least 11 Swiss financial firms suspected of helping Americans hide money from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
‘Last Breath’
The U.S. began a crackdown on Swiss banking secrecy in 2008, when the IRS issued a summons for information from UBS AG, Switzerland’s largest bank. UBS had to pay a $780 million fine and hand over details on 4,700 accounts held by U.S. citizens in 2009 to settle proceedings that could have led to the loss of the bank’s operating license in the U.S.
Wegelin & Co., the oldest Swiss private bank, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court in January of conspiring to help hide more than $1.2 billion in assets from the IRS, while opening undeclared accounts for at least 70 U.S. taxpayers who were former UBS clients. The bank, which paid $74 million to resolve the investigation, closed its doors after 272 years.
“The Swiss made too much easy money from this business for too many years,” said Marcovici. “They’re like a dying man grasping for its last breath.”