Art Collector Hid $450 million

A US businessman alleged to have hidden nearly half a billion dollars in earnings in offshore accounts has been arrested and charged with tax evasion and fraud. It is the biggest criminal tax fraud prosecution in US history. Walter Anderson, a telecommunications entrepreneur used the pseudonym Mark Roth but was arrested and charged with evading more than $200m dollars in taxes over five years and faces up to 80 years in prison if found guilty. An art collector who frequented Christie's in New York and London, Mr Anderson allegedly hid more than $450m in profits from federal and local authorities by creating an elaborate network of offshore investment companies. Mr Anderson is also claimed to have failed to file tax forms on two paintings he purchased. One was a $1.2m dollar Magritte painting he bought at Christie's in New York in 1998, and a $516,618 painting by Salvador Dali he bought at Christie's. For the full story - click the title Irish Art