Shokrollah Baravarian, Concealing Offshore Accounts, California 2023
A California banker has been charged with helping U.S. taxpayers conceal secret Israeli bank accounts, according to a recent indictment.
Shokrollah Baravarian, a former senior vice president at the Los Angeles branch of a bank headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States.
According to the indictment, Baravarian conspired to conceal the existence of undeclared accounts owned and controlled by U.S. customers in Israel.
The indictment alleges that these accounts were concealed from the IRS by opening them under pseudonyms, code names and the names of nominee entities set up in the British Virgin Islands and the island of Nevis.
“This charge results from an ongoing and extensive investigation into the use of undeclared bank accounts in Israel, and demonstrates the department’s determination to find and prosecute those who help U.S. taxpayers evade taxes through offshore accounts located anywhere in the world,” said Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole.
“IRS-Criminal Investigation and Tax Division prosecutors have been investigating the use of undeclared bank accounts globally, and charges have been brought against not only the U.S. taxpayers with undeclared Israeli bank accounts but also those who facilitate the hiding of assets and income abroad,” said Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally for the Tax Division.
“The defendant assisted others to hide the true ownership of offshore bank accounts through the use of code names and nominee entities,” said Chief of IRS-Criminal Investigation Richard Weber.
No date was provided for Baravarian's crime, but the indictment alleges that a banker in Israel would periodically travel to Los Angeles and meet with U.S. customers to discuss their account statements. Prior to making these trips, the banker would redact the names of the U.S. customers reflected on the account statements.
U.S. citizens and residents who have an interest in, or signature or other authority over, a financial account in a foreign country with assets in excess of $10,000 are required to disclose the existence of such account on Schedule B, Part III, of their individual income tax returns and on a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Reports filed with the U.S. Treasury.
“The defendant assisted others to hide the true ownership of offshore bank accounts through the use of code names and nominee entities,” said Chief of IRS-Criminal Investigation Richard Weber.
No information was provided regarding Baravarian's sentence or outcome. The indictment further alleges that Baravarian assisted U.S. customers in secretly accessing the funds in their undeclared accounts by obtaining back-to-back loans from the Los Angeles branch of the bank.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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