Date: June 13, 2022 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov WASHINGTON — Crimes almost always involve financial transactions or a financial motive, and that's why it's essential that law enforcement know how to trace money tied to criminal activity. The week of June 13, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) will deliver a five-day training on financial investigative techniques to approximately 30 Palauan officials from the Financial Intelligence Unit, the Financial Institutions Commission, Bureau of Public Safety, the Office of the Attorney General, the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, the Bureau of Revenue and Taxation, the National Security Coordination Office, the Office of the Special Prosecutor, and the Foreign Investment Board. Training participants will include prosecutors, criminal investigators, tax auditors, intelligence analysts and more. Participants will explore how to follow the money trail, identify assets for confiscation, and calculate illegal proceeds. The course is highly interactive and participant-driven, and IRS-CI instructors will act as facilitators to draw on participant knowledge and apply it to financial investigations. "Many countries serve as financial hubs, and recent changes to Palau's new e-residency law are designed to attract corporations and other entities to the country," said IRS-CI Deputy Chief James Robnett. "Trainings like this one arm Palauan officials with investigative techniques to protect their country's financial system, as well as the global economy, from criminal activity." The course was coordinated through the assistance of Joint Interagency Task Force West (JIATF West), the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command's counter-drug and counter-transnational crime task force. JIATF West has a long history of partnering with IRS-CI to coordinate this type of training in line with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force, the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog. JIATF West is increasing its focus in the Pacific Island Nations, working to ensure that courses are provided to address current needs and concerns, to include new e-opportunities. IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, boasting a nearly 90 percent federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 12 attaché posts abroad.
