The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced Andrea Gacki as the new director on July 13, 2023. FinCEN is the part of the U.S. Treasury Department which has responsibility (among other things) for the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) - the U.S. version of a beneficial ownership registry. FinCEN Press Release Andrea Gacki presently serves as the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at the U.S. Treasury Department. Click to read the full p

While your colleagues are making their way through a complex list of to dos on the sale of a subsidiary or of a multi-tiered structure, make sure they include FATCA on their checklist. Your mergers and acquisitions (M&A) colleagues may focus on revenue streams, profit margins, litigation risks, creditors and other aspects of the deal, but it is your responsibility to make sure they also get into the weeds of FATCA GIINs and IRS FATCA registrations. What Is FATCA? The U.S. For

The British Virgin Islands International Tax Authority (BVI ITA) provided an update regarding the US$185.00 portal registration fee. The BVI ITA stated that once its BVI Financial Account Reporting System (BVIFARS) payment system goes live, the BVI ITA will provide details about the process and options available for making payments. The fee will be charged for each entity which is required under BVI law to register in BVIFARS. Entities register in BVIFARS to comply with BVI r

On May 2, 2023, the United Kingdom HM Revenue & Customs (UK HMRC) announced changes to its list of Common Reporting Standard (CRS) Reportable Jurisdictions. UK HMRC has removed the following jurisdictions: Kenya Moldova Uganda Moldova and Uganda had only been recently added to the Y2022 reporting list in January 2023. Given the UK has announced these changes with only four weeks until the May 31, 2023 reporting deadline, the UK HMRC stated if a financial institution (FI) is u

On April 27, 2023, the Acting Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) provided the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services an update on a variety of issues including implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act’s (CTA’s) beneficial ownership (BO) registry. FinCEN Priorities Director Das highlighted the following areas on which FinCEN is focused: Implementing the BO regulatory regime and accompanying database Protecting the data

On April 26, 2023, the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced it assessed a $1.5 million civil money penalty on South Dakota-chartered The Kingdom Trust Company (Kingdom Trust) for willful violations of the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). FinCEN said this is its first enforcement action against a trust company. Details of the bases for the fine are in a publicly available 32-page Consent Order . What Is FinCEN? The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

On April 5, 2023, the Cayman Islands Department for International Tax Cooperation (DITC) announced the FATCA and Common Reporting Standard (CRS) reporting deadlines for Y2022 data: FATCA & CRS Notification / registration: May 1, 2023. FATCA & CRS reporting: July 31, 2023. CRS Compliance Form: September 15, 2023. CRS Reportable Jurisdictions On March 31, 2023, the Cayman Islands published an updated list of Common Reporting Standard (CRS) Reportable Jurisdictions . The follow

The Bahamas Competent Authority announced the FATCA and Common Reporting Standard (CRS) portal will open for FATCA and CRS registration and submissions on Friday, July 14 , 2023 at 9 AM ET. The portal will close on Friday, August 25, 2023 at 5PM ET. Financial Institutions (FIs) with FATCA and CRS reporting obligations that miss the August 25, 2023 portal deadline will need to contact the Bahamas Competent Authority at helpdesk@taxreporting.finance.gov.bs or information@taxr

Guernsey Revenue Service issued a bulletin covering upcoming FATCA and Common Reporting Standard (CRS) deadlines and requirements. Mandatory Registration for All FIs Any Guernsey financial institution (FI) that was newly incorporated, established or transferred-in since the last reporting period must register with the Guernsey Revenue Service via IGOR by February 28, 2023 . To read more on this topic, see my December 24, 2021 blog post: New Guernsey Bulletin Mandatory Registr

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) updated the tax identification number (TIN) codes to be used in Y2022 FATCA reporting when certain Model 1 Foreign Financial Institutions (FFIs) have been unable to obtain a U.S. TIN for their pre-existing accounts that are reportable accounts. IRS TIN Reprieve For information regarding IRS Notice 2023-11 and the requirements for when an FFI may use the TIN codes, please see my recent blog post: FATCA: IRS Gives FFIs US TIN Reprieve . T

The British Virgin Islands (BVI) International Tax Authority (ITA) announced its FATCA and Common Reporting Standard (CRS) reporting deadlines: FATCA Annual Enrolment deadline: 1st April 2023. FATCA Annual Reporting Submission deadline: 31st May 2023. CRS Annual Enrolment/Notification deadline: 30 April 2023. CRS Annual Reporting Submission deadline: 31st May 2023. The CRS reportable jurisdictions for Y2022 have not yet been updated. The BVI Financial Account Reporting System

On January 25, 2023, FinCEN issued an alert regarding potential investments in the U.S. commercial real estate (CRE) sector by sanctioned Russian elites and their proxies. FinCEN includes in its reference to CRE the following types of property: investment or income-generating property such as office buildings, retail stores, hotels, and multifamily housing. What Is FinCEN? The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasur

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2023-11 which will be in Internal Revenue Bulletin (IRB) 2023-3, dated January 17, 2023. The IRS provided procedures by which a Foreign Financial Institution (FFI) can remain compliant despite not obtaining U.S. tax identification numbers (TINs) from certain account holders who are U.S. Persons under FATCA. What Is the Reprieve? The IRS will not determine an FFI is significantly non-compliant with the FFI’s FATCA

On January 5, 2023, the United Kingdom HM Revenue & Customs (UK HMRC) updated the list of reportable jurisdictions in its International Exchange of Information Manual. The changes since the 2022 reporting year are that Moldova, Montenegro, Thailand and Uganda have been added to the list and Morocco has been removed from the International Exchange of Information Manual list. The following is the complete HMRC list of Reportable Jurisdictions under the Common Reporting Standard

On December 16, 2022, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published in the Federal Register the preliminary rules to implement the beneficial ownership information (BOI) access and safeguard provisions of the U.S. Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). The CTA was enacted on January 1, 2021. The new reporting regime will require certain domestic and foreign entities to report on their beneficial ownership. Rulemaking Plan FinCEN previously announced three stages of r