U.S. Court Imposes John Doe Summons against Belize Offshore Banks

On September 16, 2015, a U.S. District Court in Miami entered an order authorizing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to serve a "John Doe" summons seeking information about U.S. taxpayers who may hold offshore accounts at Belize Bank International Limited (BBIL) or Belize Bank Limited (BBL). U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro  granted the United States government's petition for permission to seek records of BBIL's and BBL's correspondent accounts at Bank of America, N.A. and Citibank, N.A. Those records will allow the IRS to identify U.S. taxpayers who hold or held interests in financial accounts at BBIL and BBL, as well as other financial institutions that used the same correspondent accounts.