According to a recently
released progress report from the Office of the Revenue Commissioners in Ireland,
over 600 individuals and trusts have been linked to bogus non-resident accounts
with Ansbacher bank.
Speaking last week, a Revenue
spokesman said that of these links, around 29 have yet to be investigated, but
signalled that the hunt for tax evaders was far from over. 'We are continuing
to investigate with a view to collecting tax, interest, and penalties from all
account holders,' he told the Irish Times.
Although the Revenue Commissioners
Office has revealed that in some cases, payments on account have been made to
prevent interest payments from building up any further, there will be nowhere
to hide, even for tax evaders who eventually pay up. 'There are provisions that
all of these people and companies shall be named,' the spokesman confirmed.
A separate High Court report
on the issue is still being compiled, and although no formal decision has yet
been made as to whether this list will also be published, the Tanaiste, Mary
Harney, has said that she cannot envisage a circumstance in which it would not
be.
In the Comptroller and Auditor
General's report, published at the end of September, it was revealed that the
ongoing inquiries into the Ansbacher and National Irish Bank accounts had resulted
in the collection of more than £32 million from delinquent taxpayers.