The Revenue Commissioners has called special meetings with chief executives of Irish financial institutions as part of its inquiry into tax evasion and offshore accounts. Una McCaffrey reports.

The high-level meetings are seen as crucial in Revenue's efforts to obtain records of customer transactions in the offshore subsidiaries of Irish banks and building societies. Access to such records would help Revenue to quantify the amount of money lodged by Irish residents in offshore locations in an attempt to evade tax.

The chief executives of at least nine banks and building societies with offshore subsidiaries are thought to have received letters from the Revenue over the past couple of weeks.

The Revenue declined to comment on the letters yesterday, but it is understood that they invited the chief executives to arrange a mutually suitable time to meet.

They are being asked to meet representatives of the Revenue on an individual, rather than a collective, basis.

The Revenue has previously signalled its readiness to systematically apply for High Court orders to examine documents showing lodgements and transfers to the operations of Irish banks and building societies in the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

It is likely that the forthcoming meetings will be used to persuade the chief executives of the relevant financial institutions that they should take a common approach to the sharing of such information.

The Revenue has thus far sought sight of transactional records on a piecemeal basis, taking one financial institution at a time. The meetings currently being scheduled, which are likely to take place later this month or in early January, could lead to an acceleration of the Revenue's general investigation.

Revenue chairman Mr Frank Daly said in June that Irish financial institutions could face penalties if found to have helped customers to evade tax through offshore investments.

It was not clear, however, how the Revenue would treat banks or building societies that counted Irish residents among offshore customers but, as in the case of First Active for example, had not actively promoted such accounts in the Republic.

At that time, the Commissioners were investigating trusts held by Bank of Ireland customers in Jersey, but the trawl has since extended to at least two other Irish banks.

One of these, Anglo Irish Bank, has expressed concern about sharing the financial details of specific customers in another jurisdiction, specifically the Isle of Man.

Anglo's chief executive, Mr Sean FitzPatrick, confirmed earlier this week that he had not yet been asked by the Revenue to contact Isle of Man customers about the matter.