(Source: Fadi Mualem Globes, Tel Aviv, Israel — Branches of Israeli banks in Switzerland and Luxembourg were involved in a tax evasion scheme in the US, according to an indictment filed with the US Federal Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles against three executives of United Revenue Service Inc., a tax preparation firm. The executives are accused of creating fictitious accounts to help clients evade US taxes.
Th ethree are former United Revenue Service CEO David Kalai, his son and company president, Nadav Kalai, and David Almog, the former manager of the firm’s New York branch. The indictment, filed on Thursday, does not disclose the names of the Israeli banks involved, only stating “Bank A Luxembourg” and “Bank B Luxembourg-Switzerland.”
The indictment states that, in 2000-11 the three men opened secret accounts in the Israeli banks in Switzerland and Luxembourg to help the firm’s clients evade taxes. The three men, together with a fourth man who has not been indicted, allegedly incorporated offshore companies in Belize and elsewhere in order to conceal the real identities of the accounts’ owners.
The Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles has not responded to the indictment. Sandra Brown, head of the tax division at the US Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, did not respond to “Bloomberg’s” calls.
In September 2011, “Reuters” reported that US tax authorities were monitoring the Swiss branches of three big banks in the country on suspicion that they were helping US citizens evade taxes.
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©2012 Globes (Tel Aviv, Israel)
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Source: Fadi Mualem Globes, Tel Aviv, Israel
