Is FBAR Venue Criminal Venue for the Convenience of the Government or in No District for the Convenience of the Filer? (7/23/11)

In United States v. Bradley, ___ F.3d ___, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 13260 (11th Cir. 13260), a decision of considerable length (195 pages), the Court addressed inter alia, venue in a case involving an FBAR violation. In a nutshell, the FBAR form permits filing at the Detroit Service Center or any IRS office. There is no special venue provision for FBAR charges, so the general rule applies which makes venue in any district where the crime was committed. Since the filer could file in any district, does that make his or her failure to file a crime that occurred in any district, giving the Government choice of any venue? Without deciding whether that sweeping opportunity for venue choice was available to the Government at its whim, the Court sustained venue for the FBAR charges based on the district court's inquiry into the convenience of that district for trial of the charges, even though the defendant resided elsewhere. 

I have linked the opinion above, but because of its length, I am just cutting and pasting it below for readers' easier access (pp. 56-60 of the pdf slip opinion):

Count 284 alleged that Bradley III failed to disclose an interest in a foreign financial account while committing mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, in violation of 31 U.S.C. §§ 5314 and 5322(b). Section 5314 authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to require a taxpayer to keep records and file reports "when th[at] resident, citizen, or person makes a transaction or maintains a relation for any person with a foreign financial institution." 31 U.S.C. § 5314(a). The Secretary has exercised that authority by requiring all persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to disclose whether he or she has "an interest in, or a signature or other authority over, a bank, securities or other financial account in a foreign country." 31 C.F.R. § 103.24(a). If a person owns such an account, he is obligated by 31 C.F.R. § 103.24 to file Form 90-22.1 with "the Commission of the Internal Revenue." That form instructs the person that the filing may be accomplished "by mailing this report to the Department of the Treasury . . . or by hand-carrying it to any local office of the Internal Revenue Service for forwarding to the Department of the Treasury" in Detroit, Michigan.

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