The UK, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and the US have teamed up in a joint venture to tackle international tax crime and money laundering.
To take an international approach to cryptocurrency-related crime, the Internal Revenue Service has formed the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5).
J5 is a coalition between five countries aimed at investigating cryptocurrency crimes, including tax fraud and money laundering.
Membership of the J5 includes the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) and Australian Taxation Office (ATO), the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), the Fiscale Inlichtingen-en Opsporingsdienst (FIOD), HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).
The agencies will both share information and conduct investigations together, in an effort to ‘reduce the growing threat to tax administrations posed by cryptocurrencies and cybercrime and to make the most of data and technology’, according to the IRS.
The group said: “We are convinced that offshore structures and financial instruments, where used to commit tax crime and money laundering, are detrimental to the economic, fiscal, and social interests of our countries.
“We will work together to investigate those who enable transnational tax crime and money laundering and those who benefit from it. We will also collaborate internationally to reduce the growing threat to tax administrations posed by cryptocurrencies and cybercrime and to make the most of data and technology.”
J5 was formed in response to a call to action from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for countries to do more to tackle the enablers of tax crimes.
Together they will look to enhance existing investigation and intelligence programs, identify significant targets for new investigations, improve the tactical intelligence threat picture, and raise international awareness. It will also lead the wider community in developing its strategic understanding of the methods, weaknesses and risks from offshore tax crime and cybercrime.
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
