Irish banks, including Allied Irish Banks (AIB), Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank and the Anglo Irish bank, are among the financial institutions that are being targeted by HM Revenue & Customs office (HMRC) as part of its £80m (€120m) crackdown on tax evasion and offshore banking.

The Revenue & Customs office is understood to have approached its Irish counterparts in the Revenue Commissioners in attempting to access records held by banks in Ireland that hold accounts opened there by British subjects.

Aileen Barry, director of national tax investigations with a major Irish law firm, stated that "Irish banks are very definitely targets for the investigation. Notices will also be served on the UK offices of the Irish banks, with a view to accessing records held by them of accounts opened at branches in the republic."

HM Revenue & Customs Office recently began issuing "production orders" to financial institutions in the UK and demanding details of more than 30,000 accounts suspected of being used to evade taxes.

Ms. Barry said that her firm has already been retained by clients who have accounts with Irish banks and are fearful that British revenue officials will gain access to these accounts by targeting the banks’ UK operations.

The AID, Ulster Bank and Anglo Irish have all said that they haven’t been contacted by HMC.

The Bank of Ireland declined to say whether it had been contacted but admitted: "Like all banks, we get requests for information from tax authorities in the jurisdictions in which we operate."

The Revenue Commissioners would not comment on its co-operation with UK officials.

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