International news stories have reported Credit Suisse is caught up in the investigations. Credit:Peter Klaunzer "The fact that these accounts are unnamed means that by their very nature they are likely to have been established to hide the identity of the owner," Ms O'Dwyer said. "Taskforce agencies are working through their intelligence to determine the taxpayers in this group who have done the right thing, and those who have been concealing the true nature of their tax affairs." Australian authorities have not released the name of the Swiss financial institution caught up in the investigations, but international news stories have reported that it is Credit Suisse. On Friday, Credit Suisse issued a statement saying that "offices in London, Paris and Amsterdam were contacted by authorities concerning client tax matters. We are co-operating with the authorities".

"It's only a matter of time before you're in the spotlight.": Revenue and Financial Services Minister Kelly O'Dwyer. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Credit Suisse also said that, since 2013, it had applied the Withholding Tax Agreement between Switzerland and the UK. "We have also implemented the Dutch and French voluntary tax disclosure programs and exited non-compliant clients. In addition, Credit Suisse has implemented the Automated Exchange of Information for its European locations (starting in April 2017). The same will apply for European individual clients served from Switzerland from 2018." "Credit Suisse continues to follow a strategy of full client tax compliance," it said. Ms O'Dwyer said 23 of the 346 Australians had already come forward to discuss their tax affairs, or had been the subject of previous Australian Taxation Office compliance action.

She said it was expected that many of the Australians identified would have complied with their tax obligations. But Ms O'Dwyer issued a stern warning that Australians with undisclosed offshore tax arrangements would face the full force of the law, including significant financial penalties and possible jail time. "Unfortunately, there are still those who believe they can dodge from their tax obligations and avoid detection by government agencies," she said. "As revenue authorities continue to gather and share intelligence in the coming weeks, they expect to move quickly to pinpoint those people who've deliberately promoted or willingly participated in these schemes. "The message from these investigations makes it clear that governments worldwide are shining a light on offshore tax evasion, and it's only a matter of time before you're in the spotlight," she said.

International news agency Reuters reported that two people had been arrested in the Netherlands after raids began on Thursday, with the Dutch office for financial crimes prosecution seizing expensive paintings, a luxury car, a gold bar, jewellery and administrative records. The Dutch are "investigating dozens of people who are suspected of tax fraud and money laundering," prosecutors said, adding that suspects had deposited money in a Swiss bank without disclosing that to authorities. Reuters reported that Credit Suisse had been dragged into the latest tax evasion investigations after a tip-off to Dutch prosecutors about tens of thousands of suspect accounts. It also reported that co-ordinated raids had commenced on Thursday in the Netherlands, Britain, Germany and France. British tax authorities said they had opened a criminal investigation into suspected tax evasion and money laundering by "a global financial institution" and would be focusing initially on "senior employees," along with an unspecified number of customers.

Prosecutors in the German city of Cologne said they were also working with the Dutch. "We have launched an investigation against clients of a bank," a spokesman said. with Reuters