Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Aug 21, 2026

Wealthy Americans Targeted by U.S. in Panama Tax-Fraud Probe

Wealthy Americans Targeted by U.S. in Panama Tax-Fraud Probe

U.S. authorities obtained a court order allowing them to demand financial information from banks and couriers about wealthy Americans suspected of using a Panamanian law firm to evade taxes.

The Internal Revenue Service can now get information about electronic fund transfers and courier deliveries between the firm, Panama Offshore Legal Services, and its U.S. clients, the Justice Department said in a statement Thursday. The IRS seeks to identify clients who used the law firm to “create or control foreign assets and entities” to evade taxes, the department said.

“We continue our joint efforts with the IRS to investigate tax evaders who use foreign financial accounts and sham foreign entities to hide their assets,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in the statement.

U.S. District Judge Gregory Woods modified an order Wednesday that authorized the IRS to issue summonses to entities including the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Clearing House Payments Co., HSBC Bank USA N.A., Citibank N.A., Wells Fargo N.A., Bank of America N.A., FedEx Corp., United Parcel Service Inc. and DHL Express.

The order requires that they produce information about possible violations of tax laws by people whose identities are unknown, according to the statement. Woods authorized so-called John Doe summonses, which let authorities get names of U.S. taxpayers, records and other information relating to those taxpayers.

The summonses are unrelated to the leak five years ago of more than 11 million documents, known as the Panama Papers, involving offshore entities created by a Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca. The disclosures have led to criminal convictions of at least two Americans.

Panama Offshore Legal Services, or POLS, used HSBC, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citibank for U.S. correspondent accounts, according to a May 4 declaration by IRS Revenue Agent Katy Fuentes. The banks cleared dollar-denominated transactions.

‘Free From … Taxes’


The firm provides “comprehensive entity formation and legal and management services for clients wanting to use Panamanian entities” to hide their ownership of assets, set up bank accounts in Panama, and invest in Panamanian real estate, Fuentes wrote. The firm, which has operated alongside several related entities, was the registered agent for 2,535 Panamanian entities, the agent found.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Twenty-Nine US States Take Meta to Trial Over Alleged Child Addiction on Instagram and Facebook
Former Scottish National Party Executive Peter Murrell Jailed for Five Years Over £400,000 Embezzlement
Moderna and Merck's Personalized Cancer Vaccine Succeeds in Historic Late-Stage Melanoma Trial
Prince Harry and Meghan to Move Back to Britain With Their Children
England and Wales Have Fewer Than 1,800 Prison Places Left for Men
Suspected People Smuggler Arrested After Investigation Identified Him
Children's Doctors Warn That Vaping Can Lead Young People to Smoking
Hundreds of Thousands of Students Receive GCSE and Vocational Results Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Here Is What Can Never Happen in Your Country: Taiwan Is Giving Money to All Its People Because It Collected Too Much Tax
UK Inflation Rises to 2.9% as Energy Bills Jump
UK Issues New Conduct Guide for Asylum Seekers on Consent and Respect
A Sleepless Night on Wall Street: Nasdaq to Begin Nearly Round-the-Clock Trading
"The First in the World": 69-Year-Old Protested Artificial Intelligence—and Went to Jail
Ukraine's Ousted Defence Minister Calls for Wartime Presidential Election
China’s Lifelike AI Humans Move From Livestreams Into Real-World Service Roles
Sarah Ferguson Reportedly Retreats to Late Ex-Boyfriend's Swiss Chalet
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez Sign Prenup Protecting Their Separate Fortunes
Thieves Steal Antonello da Messina Renaissance Masterpieces From Sicilian Museum
Better.com Founder Who Fired 900 Employees on Zoom Is Ousted as CEO
Italian Speed Camera Issues Nearly 32,000 Fines in 10 Weeks, Worth More Than €3 Million
AI Manager at San Francisco Store Recommends Firing Human Employee
Google Launches Pixel 11 With Gemini AI at the Center of Its Hardware Strategy
Reform UK Unveils Plan to Cut Welfare Spending by More Than £50 Billion a Year
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Praised Extinction Rebellion for Doing a 'Great Service'
UK Wildfire Phone Alert Triggers Backlash as Users Switch Off Emergency Warnings
Heathrow Roads Reopen After Burst Water Main Floods Access to Terminals 2 and 3
Former NBA Players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White Say They Will Enter 2027 WNBA Draft
Former Cambridge Professor Jason Arday Found Dead Days After Resigning Amid Plagiarism Row
US Appeals Court Rules AI Agent's Website Actions Are Legally Attributed to the User
France's Constitutional Council Blocks Social Media Ban for Children Under 15
Liechtenstein Changes Royal Succession Rules to Allow Women to Inherit the Throne
Women Allege Rape and Sexual Abuse at British Army College for Teenage Recruits
Minnesota: Two independent investigators posed as Muslims (one wearing a burqa) and showed how they could vote in elections without identification.
China’s Kimi Launches AI-Focused Credit Card With Agricultural Bank of China and American Express
Former Labour Adviser Arrested on Suspicion of Spying for China Held Privileged Access as Top Party Donor
Turkish Parliament Passes Landmark Bill Granting Conditional Amnesty to Disarmed PKK Members
Donald Trump Warns FIFA Against Ousting Gianni Infantino Amid Revolt by Global Football Leaders
Jeff Bezos Joins Investor Group Closing In on $6 Billion Liverpool FC Stake
UK Councils to Receive Sweeping Planning Powers to Ban New Vape and Betting Shops
Russia’s A7 Builds a State-Linked Payments Network Beyond Western Sanctions
Hyper-Realistic Reborn Dolls Draw Collectors Seeking Comfort and Craft
Gen Z Cuts Back on Dating as a Night Out Nears $200
Patients Turn to Artificial Intelligence for Therapy as Psychiatrists Warn of Privacy and Clinical Risks
Couples Embrace ‘Sleep Divorce’ to Protect Rest and Reduce Tension
Meta Ordered to Pay $567 Million and Change Facebook and Instagram Safeguards for Children
Up to only 10 Months in Prison for Swedish Officer’s Murderer Sparks Anger
Success: Nvidia Turned Gaming Chips Into the Engine of the AI Boom
Jorge Messi, Lionel Messi’s Father and Longtime Agent, Dies at 68
AI’s Next Bottleneck Is Power, Not Just Nvidia Chips
Advertising trick: Pepsi’s Harrier Jet Commercial Led to a $700,000 Court Fight
×