An article published by SwissInfo on Friday reports that Israeli bank Hapoalim has been fined nearly $875 million by the U.S., one of the largest penalties imposed by the U.S. in tax evasion probing history.
According to SwissInfo, the bank hid $7.6 billion of undeclared assets in Swiss and Israeli accounts. The bank was fined an additional $30 million by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for laundering bribes related to corruption at FIFA.
“Swiss banks, including branches of foreign banks in Switzerland, have been under investigation by the DOJ since UBS was fined $780 million in 2009 for assisting tax evaders. The probe, which involved around 100 banks, led to the end of banking secrecy in Switzerland.”
Read the story from SwissInfo: Israeli bank hit with $900m tax evasion and football kickback penalties
Tax evasion whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld, recipient of the largest individual whistleblower reward, was recently featured in a story published by Full Measure.
In the Full Measure video, Birkenfeld explains how he destroyed Swiss bank secrecy by exposing illegal offshore accounts held by wealthy Americans.
Birkenfeld’s disclosures led to the IRS Whistleblower Program granting him a reward of $104 million.
Watch the video: Unfinished Business: The Whistleblower.
