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U.S. Seeks New Powers to Fight Tax Evasion
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Feb 13, 2009 06:44pm |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - New York Times |
| News Date | Friday, February 13, 2009 12:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | By LYNNLEY BROWNING
Published: February 12, 2009
The Justice Department is seeking expanded powers to prosecute offshore tax evasion and other financial crimes, including those related to the mortgage industry and potential misuse of government bailout money.
The efforts, which have gained traction in recent weeks, could give the agency tougher prosecutorial tools to combat fraud amid the economic downturn. As part of the effort, the agency has thrown its weight behind a Senate antifraud bill that, if passed, would make it easier for the agency to apply money-laundering statutes in cases of suspected tax evasion, particularly those involving offshore accounts.
A top Justice Department official laid out the aims on Wednesday in comments at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the bill, known as the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009.
Money-laundering statutes generally carry stiffer penalties, are regarded more seriously by courts and make it easier for prosecutors to force defendants to forfeit assets and make restitution, said Robert G. Morvillo, a white-collar criminal defense lawyer in New York.
The Justice Department also wants to amend the criminal code to include broader definitions of financial institutions and mortgage lenders, and to extend bank-fraud statutes to nonbank companies, particularly private mortgage lenders like Countrywide.
It is also pushing Congress to amend the current major fraud statute to apply to any illegal transactions under the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, and to the multibillion-dollar stimulus package. |
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