Court rejects Eighth Amendment challenge to FBAR penalty on Turkish bank accounts

United States v. Tuncay Saydam, No. 4:22-cv-07371 (United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Nov. 18, 2025).

A federal court held that a $437,564 FBAR penalty for willful non-reporting of foreign accounts is a “fine” under the Eighth Amendment but is not excessive in light of the taxpayer’s culpability, tax loss, and the statutory and guideline frameworks.

Holding

The court held that civil FBAR penalties under 31 U.S.C. §5321(a)(5) function as “fines” for Eighth…