Baker Tilly Dutch Caribbean | Edition 1 2014

ARE YOU PREPARED
FOR A TIO OR FIOD
INVASION?
The TIO or FIOD can appear at your doorstep unannounced,
demanding to see your books immediately. When they do,
are you properly prepared?
And we don’t just mean having the
books and supporting documents
ready; do you know what to say,
what to ask and what to avoid
saying or doing?
Baker Tilly Dutch Caribbean and
HBN Law recently joined forces
to give a presentation and
crash course in ‘Handling a
TIO or FIOD Invasion’.
Baker Tilly Dutch Caribbean and
HBN Law chose to do this together,
because the fields of expertise they
each bring to the table complement
each other, making the training
they gave to employees of financial
institutions all the more successful.
Baker Tilly Dutch Caribbean Partner
Arthur van Aalst is a specialized
Tax Attorney, while attorney Jeroen
Eichhorn of HBN Law has in-depth
knowledge of Civil Law.
Tax Attorney Arthur van Aalst: “When
seven TIO or FIOD investigators
suddenly show up at your doorstep,
the first person they see is the
receptionist. This receptionist must
display a strong footing and be able
to quickly switch to asking the right
questions, redirect the investigators’
questions and diligently inform
superiors of the situation at
hand.” During the presentation,
Jeroen Eichhorn of HBN Law and
Baker Tilly’s Van Aalst provided
receptionists, assistants and
managers of several local financial
institutions with clear instructions
on how to handle an unexpected
tax invasion.
Financial institutions such as
banks and trust companies are
often dependent on the input of
their clients. If these clients of
the financial institution in question
generate ‘black market’ revenue and
keep a shadow administration that
the institution does not know about,
the institution may involuntarily
be called as a witness, or even
worse, also become a suspect in
a criminal investigation. Eichhorn:
“When subsequently a tax invasion
by an investigation authority follows,
you had better be prepared.”
Common financial crimes include
fraud, forgery, and participation in a
criminal organization or intentional
false tax returns. In addition to heavy
fines, these offenses can result in
several years of incarceration.
Although all of the attendees of
the seminar were aware of the
possibility of a tax invasion, many
didn’t consider the situation in which
they could be involuntarily involved
in a criminal investigation into a
third party, such as a client or a
stakeholder. Besides this valuable
awareness, the attendees also
appreciated the tips and tricks
for handling the moment when
the investigators are already at
the doorstep. Baker Tilly Dutch
Caribbean and HBN Law are
satisfied with the turnout and glad
that they were able to be help some
of their clients, but also the financial
sector in general to be better
prepared.
“It’s better to be safe than sorry, and
in the end we all benefit from a clean
and ethical economy”, according to
Arthur van Aalst.
pag 18 pag 19