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U.S. Senate Amends Offshore Tax Avoidance to Money Laundering Criminal Statute

The U.S. Senate recently passed legislation for the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 (S. 386). This bill introduces International Money Laundering Statute amendments that provide severe criminal and civil penalties for offshore money transfers that are intended to evade federal income taxes, or to commit an act of Tax Fraud.

Under the new law, those that violate the criminal statute may face up to twenty years in prison and fines of up to $500,000 or double the amount of the value of the transferred funds. This amendment increases the fine by 5 times the current $100,000 penalty, and 4 times the current rate of 5 years imprisonment. Furthermore, the Fight Fraud Act of 2009 (H.R. 1748); has been accepted by the House Judiciary Committee, though this resolution does not contain the tax provisions.