U.S. Officials Thank Bermuda Police Service
The Bermuda Police Service was recently recognised by American officials for their role in the investigation of an alleged $2 billion tax fraud by tycoon Robert Brockman.
The statement from the U.S Department of Justice said, “According to the indictment, Brockman, a resident of Houston, Texas, and Pitkin County, Colorado, used a web of offshore entities based in Bermuda and Nevis to hide from the IRS income earned on his investments in private equity funds which were managed by a San Francisco-based investment firm.
“As part of the alleged scheme, Brockman directed untaxed capital gains income to secret bank accounts in Bermuda and Switzerland. The indictment further alleges that to execute the fraud, between 1999 and 2019, Brockman took measures such as backdating records and using encrypted communications and code words to communicate with a co-conspirator, among other alleged actions.”
U.S news report on the case
A police spokesperson said, “The Bermuda Police Service was recently recognised by the United States, Internal Revenue Service, for its role in the investigation of a two-billion-dollar tax fraud matter against billionaire tycoon Robert Brockman and one of his associates.
“This is said to be the largest ever such indictment against an individual in the U.S.
“In April 2018, the Attorney General’s Chambers received a request from the United States Department of Justice [DoJ] to assist the Internal Revenue Service [IRS] with a large scale criminal tax evasion & money laundering investigation.”
Detective Superintendent, Nicholas Pedro, who heads up the Bermuda Police Service, Crime Division, stated: “The Financial Crime Unit of the Bermuda Police Service was able to assist in this process by the execution of search warrants, service of production orders, and seizure of evidence locally. This evidence was shared with our U.S. counterparts which proved to be pivotal to their case against two prominent U.S. based businessmen.
“Our detectives worked closely with the IRS & DoJ on the progression of this case, aspects of which remain ongoing, and hence cannot be discussed.”
Superintendent Pedro added: “Bermuda, and more specifically, the Bermuda Police Service welcomes the recognition of the role we played in this transnational money laundering and criminal tax evasion matter.
“This complex case highlights the role of Bermuda on the world stage, and the need for our investigators to be highly trained, skilled, and have the requisite resources available to them in order to meet international requirements and standards in the arena of financial investigations.
“We take our role on the international stage as a financial centre of excellence very seriously, and we believe this demonstrates our commitment and resolve to prevent Bermuda being used by criminals to launder criminal proceeds.
“We continue to work with our overseas partners on cases of this nature and are grateful for the recognition by the Internal Revenue Service & U.S. Department of Justice in this case.”
Quick excerpt of the press conference where the BPS is mentioned:
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