The Wall Street Journal reports: "The Paris-based lender said Thursday it set aside $1.1 billion for possible violation of laws, in particular those of the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, related to transactions dating from 2002 to 2009." A violation of the only OFAC list costs an arm…

US Treasury fines Luxembourg Firm for Skirting Iran Sanctions Clearstream Banking S.A. settled with the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) over the allegations to have violated US Iran sanctions regulations. According to the Miami Herald: "Clearstream provided the Government of Iran with substantial and unauthorized access to the…

Make that $326,000,000 After 22 years (!) the liquidation process was closed. Wrongfully? A Luxembourg court will tell. Remarkably, against the odds and expert advice, a large percentage of the nominal moneys were retrieved. If successful, these additional funds might get recuperated. About 250,000 clients in 70 (+) countries were…

A tax break that helps companies to make profit from loss Written by Oman Observer This article by Tom Bergin is presently making its round across the universe, probably through some syndication agreement. Of all places, this is a link to the "Oman Daily Observer". The main focus is on…

A Tax Justice Network compilation, from a Latin American angle. The numbers are staggering, and though G20 gets a reputation of doing nothing, I beg to differ a bit. G20 will act more and more, because governments spend more than they take in. They need the money! However it will…

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Luxembourg's AAA rating, and pointed out Luxembourg's relatively good performance in GDP growth. Several statements indicate the key spots that will be considered in future assessments: Luxembourg's greater volatility due to the reliance on financial services and its risks The total balance sheet of the financial…

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were sentenced to 20 months in prison for tax evasion by an Italian court. 20 months in the cabana is no dolce vita. The good news: there will be appeals, and even if that fails, it will be mostly a sentence of "house arrest". However…

"Boys don’t cry," my aunt Naomi would say. So when I had to, I used some concealing strategies. That was a long time ago. But I knew Naomi would pop up, the moment I said:"Dear Day." I had arrived in Wilkes-Barre the day before Memorial Day 1992, to honor the…

Luxembourg will join a Europe-wide effort to share records on bank accounts held by foreigners. By ANDREW HIGGINS The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune An excellent excursion into the meanders of tax havens. Unless, as of yesterday, Luxembourg tries a Houdini out of its commitment to embrace automatic information. But that only beats…

I know some about orchids, Belgium, France, Luxembourg and DEXIA. All combined give us a Belgian story today about Pierre Mariani, former DEXIA boss, who was denied (with much publicity) a seven figure Golden Parachute, in 2012. What was not well known was that, as the Golden Parachute failed to…