Two recent cases show efforts of tax authorities to hold professional enablers accountable.  The first concerns the Danish tax authority’s civil fraud charges against U.S. lawyer Michael Ben-Jacob.  The second involves the German government’s criminal tax fraud charges against Hanno Berger. Over the last decade, the world has witnessed increasingly sophisticated financial crimes occurring across borders.  Due to these crimes, the public interest on these issues has grown; this is due to the large coverage given to these financial crimes like the Panama Papers.  The small segment of professionals that generate opportunities to facilitate the commission and/or concealment of such crimes undermine not only the rule of law, but their own profession, public confidence in the legal and financial system, as well as the level playing field between compliant and non-compliant taxpayers.[1]  This article will explain the role of professional enablers, highlight an example of the professional enabler in practice, and raise strategies to deter future professional enablers. 

On July 22, 2021, the U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York announced the filing by a federal grand jury of a superseding indictment charging nine defendants with acting and conspiring to act in the United States as illegal agents of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) without prior notification to the Attorney General, and participating and conspiring to participate in interstate and international stalking.  The indictment charged two of the nine defendants also with obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice.[1]

On July 20, 2021, the European Commission presented a significant set of legislative proposals to strengthen the EU’s anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing (AML/CFT) rules.  The proposal will establish a new EU authority to combat money laundering.  The proposals aim to improve the detection of suspicious transactions and activities, and to eliminate the loopholes that criminals use to launder illicit proceeds or finance terrorist activities through the financial system. 

On July 19, 2021, District Judge Michael Snow of the Westminster Magistrates’ Court ordered the extradition of Peter Singh Virdee from the United Kingdom to Germany to face tax fraud charges concerning allegations he operated a criminal gang that stole €125.6 million ($148.2 million) in a carbon credits carousel scam.

On July 19, 2021, the U.S., European Union, and NATO accused China for its involvement in the Microsoft Exchange hack that impacted companies, governments, and organizations. The announcement fell short of any sanctions and was mainly intended to set clear guidelines on what is prohibited. [1]

On July 15, 2021, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced the filing of a civil complaint seeking forfeiture of a 10^th Century Khmer sandstone statue – Skanda on a  Peacock – in order to return it to the Kingdom of Cambodia.[1] In approximately 1997, a former member of the Khmer Rouge led a team of looters who store the statute from the Prasat Krachap temple at Koh Ker in Cambodia. Thereafter, antiquities dealer Douglas Latchford allegedly sold it into the international art market.  The statue is considered to be a masterpiece of artistic achievement and a valuable part of the Cambodian cultural heritage.[2]

On June 25, 2021, an Australian federal court judge ruled that a Chilean woman living in Sydney must face extradition for her alleged involvement in kidnappings during Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.[1]

On June 17, 2021, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published a new editor of Fighting Tax Crime – The Ten Global Principles (78 pp., ISBN 9789264807143 (EPUB).  Initially published in 2017, the work furnishes the first comprehensive guide to combating tax crimes. It discusses ten essential principles covering the legal, institutional, administrative, and operational aspects necessary for developing an efficient and effective system for identifying, investigating and prosecuting tax crimes, while respecting the rights of accused taxpayers.

A former executive at Goldman Sachs U.K., Asante Benko, settled the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) claims that he funneled at least $2.5 million in bribes to government officials in Ghana to secure a power plant contract for a Turkish energy company.[1]  Asante Benko agreed to pay over $329,000 to resolve the regulator’s enforcement action.  The total money yields from $275,000 in ill-gotten profits and $54,000 in interest.[2]  The SEC accused Benko of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by paying off members of parliament and key government officials through a Ghana-based shell company.[3]  Goldman Sachs was not named in the complaint due to its full cooperation with SEC’s investigation.[4]  This article will further discuss the violations by Asante Benko, highlight important guidelines and provisions of the FCPA, and the practices of Goldman Sachs’ compliance department. 

On July 1, 2021, the U.S. Department of State released the 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) that documents the global effort towards combating human trafficking.

In the Report’s opening remarks, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that

 “Through this Report, we call on governments to join the United States in improving our collective efforts to address human trafficking comprehensively. Doing so requires us to mitigate harmful practices and policies that cause socioeconomic or political vulnerabilities that traffickers often prey on.”[1]