By ALISHA HOULIHAN for AML Intelligence
IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) has announced that Chief Jim Lee is standing down from the role on April 6 next.
Lee who is expected to take up a role in the private sector has led IRS-CI since October 2020.
One of his first engagements as a private citizen will be to speak at ‘European Anti-Financial Crime Summit 2024’ in Dublin on May 16 next.
Lee is among a stellar line-up of speakers at the summit which will be officially opened by Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe.
Also speaking at the summit will be Lauren Kohr, the IRS-CI’s head of PPPs. Other law enforcement agencies attending are from Germany, France, the UK, UAE and Ireland. Speakers and delegates are drawn from the top banks, fintechs, gaming companies, policy and regulators from across the EU, UK, US and MEA.
You can register for the summit HERE:
As Chief, Lee oversees a team of more than 3,200 CI employees, including 2,200 special agents who have investigated thousands of financial crimes involving tax violations, money laundering, public corruption, cybercrime, identity theft, and terrorism financing.
‘It has been the honor of my career to serve as the chief of CI. I have been fortunate to be surrounded by talented men and women across every discipline as we unraveled some of the most complex financial crimes this world has ever seen. I will miss the job, my colleagues’
Some 140 special agents are also members of a rapid response force providing support and security to local and federal first responders during national disasters and national emergencies.
Commentators describe IRS-CI as the most powerful federal law enforcement agency.
Announcing he was stepping down, the Chief said: “It has been the honor of my career to serve as the chief of CI and represent the 3,000-plus employees within the division. I have been fortunate to be surrounded by talented men and women across every discipline of the organization as we have unraveled some of the most complex financial crimes this world has ever seen. I will miss the job, my colleagues and the challenges we faced together.”
One IRS-CI insider told AML Intelligence: “Chief Lee has been incredible. His passion, vision and ability to roll up his sleeve – at this level – is like nothing we have seen before.”
Last year, Lee listed the top CI cases that the department had investigated. “When I say our team at CI is the best at following the money trail, I mean it. Our investigators took down international tax schemes that preyed on people’s personal information, investigated multi-level marketing schemes involving cryptocurrency and uncovered one of the largest fraud schemes in history centered around renewable fuel credits,” he said.
He is a 2023 Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Service recipient and was recently chosen to co-chair the Treasury Department’s Counter-Fentanyl Strike Force.
IRS-CI highlights have included the shutdown of the largest darknet marketplace and the most significant financial seizure in the history of government.
Lee has also been an active leader in the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (called the “J5”), which is committed to combatting transnational tax crime through increased enforcement collaboration. The Joint Chiefs collaborate to gather information, share intelligence, conduct operations, and build the capacity of tax crime enforcement officials.
“Chief Lee has been an incredible federal servant – starting out as a special agent and then climbing the ranks to lead CI, the law enforcement arm of the IRS,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “Chief Lee epitomizes the agency’s guiding principles, and CI has done impactful work on a global level under his leadership.”
Lee previously served as the deputy chief of CI, staring out in 1995 as a special agent in Detroit, Michigan. He has served as the special agent in charge of the New Orleans Field Office and the executive special agent in charge of the Chicago Field Office. Lee has also served in other executive roles for CI, including director of strategy, director of northern field operations, director of southern field operations and deputy chief.
Lee holds a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree with a concentration in Accounting from Tiffin University in Ohio. That background was helpful: IRS-CI is the only federal agency that devotes 100pc of resources to investigating financial crimes. IRS-CI is also the only agency with jurisdiction over federal tax crimes.
At the time of Lee’s appointment, then-IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said: “Jim brings a quarter-century of Criminal Investigation management and field experience into this key enforcement role.”
Rettig added, “Jim is highly respected throughout the IRS and will continue long-standing working relationships with the civil enforcement functions of the IRS as well as with the Department of Justice’s Tax Division and tax prosecutors throughout the country.
“He understands the need to support compliant taxpayers by maintaining a strong, robust enforcement effort focused on those who are compliance challenged,” said Ruttig
A replacement for Lee has not yet been named.
Register here for ‘European Anti-Financial Crime Summit 2024’ in Dublin on May 16: SECURE YOUR PLACE
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