On August 2, 2017, Mr. Donald Fort, the new IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Division Chief, announced the establishment of two investigation initiatives: a nationally coordinated investigations unit and a dedicated international tax enforcement group. Fort explained that the new unit will provide a way to more effectively coordinate investigations that have nationwide impact, since it will report to CI’s frontline executives. The unit will use data analytics “to help identify and develop areas of noncompliance,” Fort said. One of the three projects the national unit will focus on will be international tax enforcement.

The International Enforcement Group will include elite special agents, located in various parts of the Unites States. Consolidating cases into one group will allow for them to be worked more efficiently.

Fort said that CI has a wide range of data to examine, including Bank Secrecy Act data, information from whistleblowers, the Panama Papers, and reporting under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. The group will analyze the data “to see where the data leads us in terms of other countries, other jurisdictions, [and] other individuals to best focus our efforts from a criminal investigation standpoint,” he said.

The group should be operational by October 1, 2017.

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