A prominent economist is taking legal action against the IRS for allegedly neglecting his Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Peter Schiff, known for his economic commentary, claims that the agency has withheld critical information about the closure of his Puerto Rico-based bank, which was shut down in 2022 by the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF)—the IRS’s criminal investigation division.
Schiff’s FOIA request specifically pertains to an IRS press conference held in Puerto Rico on June 30, 2022, as part of the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5), a collaboration of tax agencies from the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands aimed at tackling transnational tax crimes. He sought recordings and transcripts from the event, along with all email and text communications related to the press conference both before and after it took place.
He emphasized in his correspondence that the information requested is public and should not be classified, noting, “These correspondences were made between U.S. government employees and media members. None of the requested information is confidential or it would not have already been shared with reporters.”
According to the lawsuit, the IRS failed to provide the requested information within the required timeframe after Schiff denied their request for an extension. Schiff took to X (formerly Twitter) to assert that the OCIF Commissioner and IRS Chief claimed during the press conference that the agency acted independently in shutting down his bank, which he categorizes as a conspiracy without legal justification. Notably, IRS Chief Jim Lee departed the agency in April of this year.
The OCIF Commissioner and IRS Chief Lee lied during a press conference by saying OCIF acted independently to shut down my bank. In fact they conspired to shut it down, without any legitimate legal reason. The bank and its customers were sacrificed purely as a PR stunt for the J5.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) July 30, 2024
During the original press conference, Lee commended the OCIF’s actions, stating that they sent a strong message against tax evasion within the Puerto Rican financial sector. A 2022 press release from the Australian government also underscored that OCIF’s decisions were autonomous and not influenced by J5.
When questioned on X about the motivations behind the bank’s closure, Schiff suggested it was a scheme to portray his bank as involved in illegal activities, allowing officials to take credit for the shutdown while masking their own intentions.