HMRC is set to claw back up to £18m in evaded taxes after a tribunal ruled that offshore bank account details must be handed over by four banks.

Their case was based on evidence garnered during the 2007 amnesty in which some of these bank’s depositors confessed to evading taxes with their offshore bank accounts. On the basis of this evidence the tribunal was persuaded that a significant number of additional clients had yet to disclose the full extent of their offshore wealth.

It is expected however that HMRC hopes to find evidence of misdemeanors in only 1 in 20 accounts since many may belong to “non-doms” who are exempt from UK taxes on their overseas income, reports the financial times.

HMRC is widening its search to smaller banks and within the next four years hopes to extend its reach to 500 banks and building societies and to raise over £500m pounds.

It is thought that only banks with foreign branches are to be affected, although the ’scare factor” may encourage many more offshore account holders to disclose voluntarily.

“Safe” offshore accounts remain those held at small foreign banks without an international presence, located in countries without tax information exchange treaties.

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