U.S. Court Compels Judicial Assistance to Russian Tax Enforcement

  On November 1, 2000, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed an order of the district court denying efforts to dismiss proceedings brought by the U.S. Attorney, acting as commissioner pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1782, in connection with an ongoing criminal investigation of alleged tax fraud activities of a confidential plaintiff.          The main issue on appeal was whether § 1782 allowed assistance in foreign criminal investigations if an actual foreign criminal proceeding was not imminent.  The Court of Appeals held that neither the plain language of the statute nor Ninth Circuit precedent imposes an imminent requirement…[more]