Gold bug and crypto critic Peter Schiff is under investigation by a joint task force of tax authorities from several major Western governments.
According to a report from The New York Times and Australian newspaper The Age, the J5 international task force has placed hundreds of accounts belonging to Schiff’s Puerto Rico-based Euro Pacific Bank under investigation for tax evasion and various financial crimes.
The task force, comprised of tax authorities from major Western governments, was formed in the wake of the Panama Papers leak in 2016 which showed financial accounts belonging to 200,000+ offshore entities.
The report outlined a potentially troubling relationship between Schiff’s Euro Pacific and the Australian government-owned Perth Mint.
Former Australian Federal Police (AFP) investigator John Chevis first discovered the connection in 2017.
He told The Age,
I was very surprised. I think there’s a significant risk that some of the gold held within the Perth Mint by customers of the Euro Pacific Bank may be held beneficially for criminals in other parts of the world.
Speaking in an interview with the Australian newspaper last month, Schiff denied any wrongdoing on behalf of Euro Pacific and said the bank turns down “far more accounts than we approve” due to rigorous compliance screening.
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