The deposit taking business established by the former State-owned ACCBank in the Isle of Man could come under the Revenue Commissioners spotlight as part of its investigation into offshore funds.
The bank, which was sold by the Irish Government to the Dutch-based Rabobank for €165 million in 2001, opened a subsidiary in the Isle of Man in 1997. It was closed in 1999.
The Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners, Mr Frank Daly, has said it will examine all subsidiaries of Irish banks with offshore businesses as it continues its hunt for tax evaders.
The State's tax collection agency has previously investigated the State-owned bank as part of the look-back audit it undertook following the inquiry by the Dáil Committee of Public Accounts into the use of bogus non-resident accounts to evade taxes.
ACCBank paid €21 million to the Revenue Commissioners for DIRT tax arrears and penalties on accounts held by its customers.
The bank established a wholly-owned subsidiary, ACCBank (Isle of Man) in October 1997 which was managed by Royal Bank of Canada. The company offered a range of investment services to expatriates and to the corporate sector.
The chairman of the Dáil Committee of Public Accounts, Mr John Perry, said at the weekend that he would be calling the chief executives of the Irish financial institutions to appear before the committee to discuss their offshore subsidiaries.
"I intend to invite in the banks at the earliest possible opportunity. I am putting down a marker on this. Any financial institution that facilitated tax evasion will be dealt with decisively," he said.
The Revenue Commissioners has been seeking High Court orders that allow it to gain access to customer information such as transaction details and cheques that passed through the clearing system. It does not have the power to inspect documents held by subsidiaries of Irish financial institutions outside of the Republic but has been tracking the movement of funds to these operations.
On Friday, Irish Permanent Isle of Man, wrote to 3,000 customers to inform them that the Revenue intended to begin an investigation of this subsidiary on November 17th.
The bank advised customers to voluntarily disclose any tax liabilities they may have ahead of the investigation.
The Revenue is also begun discussions with Anglo Irish Bank about monies lodged by Irish residents in the Isle of Man.
Earlier this year, the Revenue warned the Bank of Ireland Trust company in Jersey of an impending investigation. It, in turn, warned its customers. To date some 254 have paid €100 million in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties.
AIB, Irish Nationwide and First Active, have subsidiaries in the Channel islands.
