Four suspects questioned on unreported HSBC accounts

HSBC  picture: Reuters
HSBC picture: Reuters

The Israel Tax Authority has a list of 8,000 Israelis with accounts in HSBC Switzerland. Arrests are imminent.

At the Tel Aviv investigative tax assessment offices, an official investigation was opened yesterday into the accounts held by Israelis at the Swiss branch of HSBC, after the Israel Tax Authority obtained a list of 8,000 Israelis with such accounts. As of now, four suspects from the same family were being questioned. The development of the investigation will determine whether the suspects are brought to court.

Over the past 18 months, since the global media reported the existence of a list of HSBC customers, the Tax Authority has been in contact with the French tax authority for the purpose of obtaining the list relevant to the bank's Israeli customers.

On August 1, the Tax Authority announced that it had obtained the requested information about thousands of Israelis holding HSBC accounts, and that it was beginning to investigate the matter. Among other things, the Tax Authority is checking whether all the money held in the Israelis' accounts in Switzerland was being reported as required. The findings showed that some of the account owners had not reported their accounts, the money in them, and the sources of the funds.

The list came on top of other lists of Israelis with overseas bank accounts obtained by the Tax Authority in recent years. The most widely known of these was a list of UBS customers, the exposure of which led to the investigation of dozens of customers who failed to report their accounts, with the first indictments in the affair being filed recently. The Tax Authority also acted in various areas following the publication of the Panama papers, and now has comprehensive information about Israelis who founded companies in Panama and other tax shelter countries.

By law, an Israeli citizen is entitled to keep an overseas bank account, but he must report it and the income derived from it (interest, dividends, capital gains, etc.) to the Tax Authority. The records include a wide variety of written evidence documenting the bank's policy toward its customers. In the first stage, which is slated to continue for a few months, the Tax Authority will examine and organize the material, and compare it to the reports made by those Israelis to the Tax Authority. In the process of organizing the documents, customers whose regular behavior towards the Tax Authority included reporting of the accounts will be identified, as well as those who reported the existence of accounts in the framework of the voluntary disclosure program.

Following legislation by the Knesset making serious tax violations predicate offenses under the Prohibition on Money Laundering Law, and in view of the large-scale response to the voluntary disclosure procedure, the Tax Authority announced a month ago that it had decided to extend the deadline for submitting voluntary disclosure requests in the framework of the administrative order for the procedure until the end of 2016.

The Tax Authority announced that 5,360 voluntary disclosure requests had been filed since the procedure was first announced in September 2014. NIS 18.6 billion in capital was revealed in these requests, and will enter the Tax Authority's reporting systems.

Upon receiving the information about the HSBC accounts, Tax Authority head Adv. Moshe Asher stated, "Obtaining the list constitutes one of the significant results of the struggle against unreported capital, in addition to the legislation passed and other measures aimed at obtaining information about Israelis with overseas bank accounts and assets. I take this opportunity to call on all Israelis with unreported capital in Israel and overseas who have not yet submitted a voluntary disclosure request to file one according to the procedure."

For the account owners on the lists, this option is no longer available. They cannot make a voluntary disclosure request, and cannot avoid criminal proceedings if they committed tax violations. As soon as the Tax Authority began investigating the information it possesses, the protection afforded by a voluntary disclosure procedure cannot be obtained. The investigation results are now beginning to emerge. It is believed that arrests of Israelis on the HSBC list are imminent.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 21, 2016

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2016

HSBC  picture: Reuters
HSBC picture: Reuters
Orit Strook  credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post Finance C'ttee approves NIS 300m coalition funds distribution

The money will mainly go to Religious Zionist party minister Orit Strook's Ministry of Settlements and National Missions.

Dangoor Academy  credit: British Embassy in Tel Aviv British Embassy showcases Israeli healthcare startups

The nine startups participated in the Dangoor HealthTech Academy, a program that connects Israeli startups with the UK healthcare system.

NextVision Stabilized Systems  credit: Shlomi Yosef/Tali Bogdanovsky Next Vision shareholders make NIS 230m exit

A British hedge fund has bought a 2.5% stake in the stabilized cameras company.

Energean CEO Mathios Rigas at the Israel Business Conference   credit: Shlomi Yosef Energean's $1b gas fields sale at risk

The sale of the energy company's asset portfolio in Egypt, Italy and Croatia may fall through because of the buyer's difficulties with the Italian regulator.

Kela Technologies founders Jason Manne, Hamutal Meridor, Alon Dror and Omer Bar Ilan  credit:  Yosef Haim Alterman Defense tech co Kela raises $39m

In response to the events of October 7, Kela has developed a platform for rapid integration of commercial technologies into military systems.

Benjamin Netanyahu  credit: ‎Alex Kolomoisky, Yediot Aharonot Firing the Shin Bet chief: The hurdles

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has "lost trust" in Shin Bet head Ronen Bar. Will this be enough to overcome legal challenges to his dismissal?

Emiliano Calemzuk  credit: PR CEO and "investor group" buying out Reshet 13

CEO Emiliano Calemzuk and the other investors will hold 74% of the television channel, while Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries and WBD will remain with 26%.

Inflation  credit: Tali Bogdanovsky Unexpectedly low February CPI reading cuts inflation

While inflation in Israel in the 12 months to the end of February 2025 is lower than forecast, housing prices continue to rise.

Yitzhak Tshuva credit: Gidon Levy and Tali Bogdanovsky Competition Authority allows Delek takeover of Isracard

The Competition Authority is considered the easier of the two regulatory hurdles that the deal must overcome, the other being the Supervisor of Banks.

David Amsalem  credit  Noam Moskowitz, Knesset Spokesperson's Office Rafael to pay state NIS 444m dividend

The minister in charge of the Government Companies Authority, David Amsalem, has approved the payment by the defense company.

Barak MX air defense system  credit: IAI IAI profit jumps 55%

Israel Aerospace Industries posted a net profit of $493 million for 2024, and ended the year with an all-time high orders backlog of $25 billion.

A TSG system in tactical use  credit: PR TSG signs cooperation agreement with US defense co

The agreement includes the integration of TSG's advanced technologies into sensor-based defense systems, which will be integrated into the operational systems of US defense units.

Bria CEO Yair Adato credit: Kseniia Poliak Israeli visual generative AI co Bria raises $40m

Bria’s Visual Generative AI platform empowers businesses to create predictable, controllable, and on-brand content that aligns with their visual language.

Amnon Shashua and Aviram Ziv credit: Eyal Izhar OrCam stymied by investor dispute with Shashua

Demands by institutional investors are blocking the visual and hearing impairment device developer's recovery plan.

Work on the Green Line credit: Bar Lavi Egged wins tender to operate TA light rail Purple, Green Lines

NTA awarded the tender to Egged, which already operates the Red Line, despite government ministry opposition to one operator for the entire network.

Gabi Seroussi illustration: Gil Gibli Board chooses Seroussi as IAI chair as Erdan freezes candidacy

Israel Aerospace Industries board chose Gabi Seroussi as chair even though he did not to go through the preliminary process of the Government Companies Authority appointments review committee.

Twitter Facebook Linkedin RSS Newsletters גלובס Israel Business Conference 2018