The UK has joined forces with the US, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands to launch the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5) – a new alliance dedicated to tackling international tax crime and money laundering.

The five countries will work together on joint operations, sharing intelligence and expertise, to crack down on those who make a living out of enabling tax crime, and to break down siloed information sources. This follows the regulatory requirement to exchange data under the Common Reporting Standard, and the UK’s crackdown on offshore disclosure requirements.

At their first meeting, the J5 brought together leading experts in tax and other financial crimes from each of the five member countries. Together they developed tactical plans and identified opportunities to pursue cyber criminals and enablers of international tax crime.

The new alliance will help HMRC build on work that has secured more than £2.8bn from offshore tax evaders since 2010.

Simon York, director HMRC Fraud Investigation Service, said: ‘Tax crime and money laundering are becoming increasingly global and sophisticated, so it’s crucial we continue to work with international partners to tackle these threats.’

The J5 was formed in response to a call to action from the OECD for countries to do more to tackle the enablers of tax crime. All five countries face similar threats – organised crime groups and wealthy offshore tax evaders who are well resourced and have access to professional enablers to hide income and assets using the global financial system.

‘By having a small number of partners, it will allow the group to be more agile and flexible to develop new approaches and carry out joint operations,’ said York. ‘Any results and benefits will be shared with wider international partners to develop a global understanding of offshore crime.’

Membership of the J5 includes the heads of tax crime and senior officials from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) and Australian Taxation Office (ATO), the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD), HMRC, and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).

Col Blanch, executive director intelligence operations, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, said: ‘Financial crime occurs on a global scale with proceeds of crime transferred between jurisdictions. This is why we are committed to working with our domestic and international partners to proactively target offshore service providers and cybercriminals who specialise in targeting the financial sector.

Johanne Charbonneau, director general, Canada Revenue Agency, said: ‘The formation of the J5 demonstrates the serious commitment of governments around the globe in enhancing international cooperation in fighting serious international tax and financial crimes, money laundering, and cybercrime through the use of cryptocurrencies.

‘The J5 complements the important international work of the OECD through operational collaboration. Our collective efforts and experience will be shared to jointly identify and address the increasingly sophisticated and global schemes and the professional enablers that facilitate such schemes.’

Don Fort, Chief of IRS-CI, said: ‘We cannot continue to operate in the same ways we have in the past, siloing our information from the rest of the world while organised criminals and tax cheats manipulate the system and exploit vulnerabilities for their personal gain.

‘The J5 aims to break down those walls, build on individual best practices, and become an operational group that is forward-thinking and can pressurise the global criminal community in ways we could not achieve on our own.’

Richard Morley, partner in the tax dispute resolution team at BDO said: ‘We have never before had a group of jurisdictions actively working together. Collaboration between the five countries will prove a vital tool and a good example of how world leaders can tackle tax fraud as it becomes ever-more complex.

‘The ability to share information and expertise, and to craft effective plans and strategies on a joint basis, will bring a new level of transparency to the fight against global tax fraud.’

Report by Sara White