US Justice Department indicts Indian Doctor in Tax Evasion Case with HSBC
ACCORDING to the indictment yesterday, Dr. Ahuja, a board-certified neurosurgeon, wire transferred and maintained millions of dollars in bank accounts in India and the Bailiwick of Jersey at The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd. (HSBC). In 2009, the HSBC bank account in India had a balance of USD 8,733,785. The indictment alleges that Dr. Ahuja failed to report these bank accounts to the IRS on his 2006-2009 tax returns. The indictment further alleges that Dr. Ahuja failed to report more than USD 1.2 million in interest income that he earned from his HSBC India account and failed to pay the taxes due on that income.
The indictment also alleges that Dr. Ahuja conspired with HSBC bankers who worked at an HSBC India office in New York to conceal from the IRS the existence, ownership and income derived from his undeclared bank accounts at HSBC India and HSBC Jersey. One of these bankers allegedly helped Dr. Ahuja avoid receiving bank statements at his house in Wisconsin, by, among other things, informing an HSBC employee in India that Ahuja “has requested that he does not want any kind of mail at his US or India address. He wants a HOLD on all his accounts . . . he does not wish to receive any mail.” The bankers also allegedly helped Dr. Ahuja access the funds in his undeclared bank accounts when he travelled abroad and transferred money from his undeclared HSBC India account to other undeclared financial accounts in India.
Dr. Ahuja faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy charge and a USD 250,000 fine. Each false tax return charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a USD 250,000 fine.
A trial date has not yet been set. An indictment is merely an allegation, and Dr. Ahuja is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.