UK taxman closes in on 300 wealthy Britons

In inquiries expected to take up to three years, the first of about 300 wealthy Britons, who have stashed away about £1bn in secret Lichtenstein accounts, have been contacted by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) which threaten to prosecute those who have lied about their assets in other probes.

Separately, the next phase of HMRC’s investigation into offshore account holders is expected to be launched over the next few months, seeking legal notices requiring an initial 25 foreign banks to reveal information about clients with offshore accounts, the Financial Times reports.

Since the Liechtenstein tax evasion scandal was revealed last February, investigators have received more information from the former employee of LGT, the bank controlled by the principality’s ruling family, who sold internal bank details to German and other tax authorities.

The revelations were examined in a US Senate subcommittee report last week, which concluded that the ‘murky operations’ of banks such as LGT helped US taxpayers evade an estimated $100bn of taxes each year.

Further reading:

Liechtenstein and LGT group helped clients hide wealth

Liechtenstein on charm offensive

Read the Financial Times story