Bank Leumi Enters into DPA on Assisting U.S. Taxpayers in Evading Taxes from Offshore Bank Accounts

                On December 22, 2014, the Bank Leumi Group entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the U.S. Department of Justice, admitting that it conspired to aid and assist U.S. taxpayers to prepare and present false tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by hiding income and assets in offshore bank accounts in Israel and elsewhere around the world.  The DPA defers prosecution on a criminal information charging the bank with conspiracy to aid and assist in the preparation and presentation of false tax returns and other documents to the Internal Revenue Service.  The DPA is the first time an Israeli bank has admitted to such criminal conduct which occurred over a 10 year period and included an array of services and products designed to keep U.S. taxpayer accounts concealed at Bank Leumi Group’s locations in Israel, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the United States.[1]