AIB was found to have been the biggest offender in terms of the number of bogus non-resident accounts it held on behalf of its customers. In 2000 the bank made the biggest ever tax settlement of €114 million in relation to its liabilities for DIRT tax.
Hundreds of individuals who are being pursued by the Revenue Commissioners for evading tax through bogus non-resident accounts are preparing to file a legal action against Irish financial institutions.
A "reaction group" established by a number of former bank officials, which is providing advice and support to many of these bank customers, is awaiting legal opinion as to whether it could take a class action.
Its founder, former AIB assistant manager Mr Conor O'Mahony, said he is confident it can pursue a case on the basis that many of these account holders were advised and coerced by the banks into evading tax.
"We are quite happy that we will be able to show that these customers were badly advised. Some 90 per cent of those who have contacted us are AIB customers," he said.
Before it handed over account details to the Revenue Commissioners, the bank offered some assurances to its staff regarding any future legal actions that might arise. Yesterday the bank would not elaborate on the extent of a legal indemnity it has offered to staff who could be identified as encouraging customers to evade tax.
Recently, the Revenue Commissioners wrote to 30,000 individuals around the Republic who have been identified from information provided by the banks as owners of bogus non-resident accounts. The Revenue believes that, between them, these 30,000 individuals operated 13,500 of these accounts.
They have until December 17th to make a full settlement and pay the full amount of tax, interest and penalties. Settlements of more than €12,700 will be published in the State's official gazette, Iris Oifigiúl. If these account holders had availed of the amnesty offered by the Revenue last year they would have paid reduced interest and penalties and avoided the publication of the details of their settlements. Some are also facing prosecution.
Based on some of the settlements that have been made public, account holders could be facing interest and penalties of up to 170 per cent of the amount held in those accounts in addition to the tax liability.
The Revenue collected €21 million on foot of the special arrangements it offered to bogus non-resident accounts holders last year. There have been no official estimates of how much money remains to be collected, although at one point the Revenue signalled it could be as much as €700 million.
Mr O'Mahony, who has dealt with hundreds of these account holders, said that he met a number of them yesterday. He suggested that if those people - who number less than a dozen - all made an immediate settlement, the Revenue Commissions would be collecting between €30 and €40 million.
Further High Court orders are being prepared, seeking customer details from all of the Irish banks and building societies to determine how many individuals are still evading their tax liabilities.
Some account holders who spoke to The Irish Times were distressed to have received a registered letter in the past week from the Revenue Commissioners as they had settled their affairs in the last amnesty.
A Revenue spokesman said a small number of letters has been sent out in error because of difficulties in matching account numbers and names.
So far the Revenue has collected more than €227 million from Irish financial institutions and individuals in unpaid DIRT tax, interest and penalties. Financial institutions accounted for €200 million of that payment.
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