OREANDA-NEWS. UniCredit Bank has joined the program on exchange of information with the U.S. government agencies under the FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act).

The Act was adopted by the Congress of the USA in March 2010 with the purpose to detect, deter and discourage offshore tax evasion by U.S. citizens, or residents, who either directly or indirectly invest outside the U.S. through foreign financial institutions. The document shall apply to all the countries of the international community. The financial institutions should identify among their customers all accounts of individuals and companies the taxpayers of the United States, and to report relevant data to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

It should be emphasized that UniCredit Group made a strategic decision to comply with FATCA, so every member of the Group should join the legal regime established by the Act. Among other issues, the FATCA participants must check the identity data of customers-account holders in order to identify possible citizens or tax residents of the USA and report accordingly to the IRS about these accounts.

Oleksandra Volodina, Project Manager of UniCredit Bank, said: "The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act will be put into effect on 1 July 2014. Since then, the Bank will have implemented a set of measures to comply with FATCA, particularly those relating to the conduct of thorough identification of existing and new customers who are subject to the requirements of the Act. FATCA compliance is a strategic objective for PJSC "Ukrsotsbank" and UniCredit Group as a whole. Implementation of the requirements under the Act will promote international transparency of the Bank and will protect the reputation and interests of our clients."