Peter Schiff is calling for a congressional investigation into the 2022 shutdown of Euro Pacific International Bank, alleging newly obtained IRS and Puerto Rico regulator emails show the bank was closed through an improper arrangement between the IRS and Puerto Rico’s Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions.
The allegation centers on what he describes as internal IRS and OCIF communications produced through a FOIA lawsuit. Schiff claims the emails show OCIF did not act independently, contrary to public statements made when the bank was shut down, and that the action helped the US Treasury argue to foreign regulators that Puerto Rico was not a high-risk tax haven.
The confirmed regulatory timeline begins on June 30, 2022, when OCIF issued a cease-and-desist order and suspended Euro Pacific’s operations. The Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement, or J5, publicly commended the action and said it followed a global effort launched two years earlier targeting suspected offshore tax evasion and money laundering tied to the bank.
READ: Peter Schiff Finally Sees Puerto Rico Allow Euro Pacific Bank Liquidation
The same J5 release said Operation Atlantis, launched in 2020, involved intelligence gathering, search warrants, interviews, production orders, and subpoenas across multiple jurisdictions. It also said the J5 supported OCIF’s action but that OCIF’s decision was independent and “not the result of a joint investigation.”
Schiff now alleges the newly produced emails contradict that line. He says one OCIF commissioner email confirms the action against Euro Pacific was done in collaboration with IRS Criminal Investigation, while other emails show coordination began six months earlier, the outcome was negotiated between IRS and OCIF, and the arrangement had support from Puerto Rico’s governor, secretary of state, and treasury secretary.
The bank’s closure has been litigated for years. In a March 2026 opinion, the US District Court for Puerto Rico described Schiff’s grievance as stemming partly from his intended sale of the bank’s stock to Qenta for $17.5 million. According to the court’s summary of Schiff’s allegations, OCIF initially supported that sale but blocked it on May 16, 2022, then later approved an asset sale to Qenta for $1.25 million after the bank entered receivership.
READ: Peter Schiff On Puerto Rico Suspending Euro Pacific Bank: “I Just Wanted Out”
Schiff’s central claim is that Operation Atlantis “came up empty,” forcing the IRS to rely on OCIF’s shutdown to preserve the appearance of a successful enforcement action. Follow the Money reported in 2024 that the IRS, working on behalf of the J5, suspected the bank of criminal conduct but “was never able to substantiate those suspicions” and that no summons was issued. The same report noted Euro Pacific itself was not prosecuted, though customer information led to cases or tax inquiries in several countries.
The public record also shows the original media allegations suffered a major legal setback. In 2022, the Federal Court of Australia found that Nine Network’s “60 Minutes” broadcast conveyed seven defamatory imputations about Schiff and Euro Pacific, including claims tied to tax evasion and tax fraud. Schiff’s own press release said no criminal charge had been brought against Schiff or anyone connected to the bank.
The court dismissed claims against The New York Times, Matthew Goldstein, The Age, Charlotte Grieve, and Nick McKenzie with prejudice on March 12, 2026.
In his recent post, Schiff says the alleged conduct represents “abuse of power and obstruction of justice” and tagged lawmakers including Rand Paul, Ron Johnson, Jim Jordan, Thomas Massie, House Republicans, the House Oversight Committee, and House Judiciary Republicans in calling for congressional review.
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