South Korea’s tax agency is pushing to share information on offshore tax evasion obtained by tax authorities in the U.S., Britain and Australia as part of its efforts to intensify crackdowns on Korean nationals engaging in such activities, sources said Tuesday.

Earlier, the tax agency in Britain posted a notice on its website, saying that it is now analyzing about 400 gigabytes of data related to offshore assets and tax havens in cooperation with its counterparts in the U.S. and Australia.

The scale of the data is larger than the 260 gigabytes of similar data reportedly being analyzed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, an international network of journalists.

“Recently, we have agreed to share this information with consultations underway on details necessary for data sharing with the three countries,” an official of the National Tax Service told reporters on the condition anonymity.

The move comes as the Korean tax agency is accelerating its drive to clamp down on wealthy individuals and business people attempting to evade taxes by using offshore tax havens and other shady methods.

It is also part of the government’s ongoing efforts to regulate the underground economy and expand its tax revenue base.

But the NTS is still in the early stage of contacting its counterparts in the three countries so it is unclear when it will be able to get its hands on the data and if there is any information related to Korean nationals, sources noted.

“We cannot be sure when we can obtain the data,” an NTS official said. “But as soon as we get our hands on the data, we will take comprehensive steps to determine about any tax evasion charges by combining the data with our own offshore tax information.” (Yonhap News)