The Wolfsberg Group is pleased to publish its Guidance on Customer Tax Evasion, which is designed to provide Financial Institutions (FIs) with an industry perspective on how to develop, implement and maintain an effective anti-tax evasion compliance programme.
The overall objective of the Guidance is to promote a culture of ethical business practices and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements related to the prevention of tax evasion, including the facilitation thereof, and to help FIs prevent the use of their operations for criminal purposes.
It is the Group’s view that an effective compliance programme should leverage existing financial crime compliance, conduct and tax (including tax transparency regimes) procedures and controls, in order to address the risks of customer tax evasion, and the facilitation thereof.
The Group acknowledges Anti Money Laundering (AML) controls and procedures play an important role in the identification of tax evasion facilitation and it may, therefore, be fitting to consider both in tandem.
This publication should be read in conjunction with applicable guidance issued by authorities in jurisdictions where an FI conducts business.
As FIs operate under a wide range of legal and regulatory environments, and have differing risk appetites and business structures, this Guidance should not be read as recommending a mandatory approach for all elements contained herein.
There are a number of ways FIs can seek to adhere to the various documents published by the Wolfsberg Group. However, the means by which each FI choses to adopt these documents must make sense for each individual firm, recognising that one size doesn’t fit all and that each FI’s risk mitigation strategy must be tailored to meet its risk appetite.
Read the Wolfsberg Group guide and supplementary publications here:
- Publication of Guidance on Customer Tax Evasion
- Wolfsberg Guidance on Customer Tax Evasion
- The Wolfsberg Group Guidance on Customer Tax Evasion
Alignment with International Initiatives The Wolfsberg Group acknowledge the importance and relevance of the guidance aligned to:
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recognition that Tax crimes are a predicate offence to money laundering.
FATF steps up the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing
Tax Evasion is included as one of three priorities of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which require attention, alongside combating terrorism and corruption and maintaining correspondent banking relationships.
Tackling Tax evasion is a key G20 objective http://www.oecd.org/ctp/oecd-secretary-general-tax-report-g20-leaders-july-2017.pdf
Tackling Tax evasion is a United Nations (UN) sustainability goal
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/
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