THE Revenue Commissioners' probe of individuals who tried to hide untaxed money in offshore trusts has netted about €37m since the investigation began.

According to Revenue, the settlements were reached with 165 trust structures, meaning an average payment of tax, interest and penalties of €221,000. The average settlement is among the highest of the various investigations into tax-evasion scams.

Revenue is examining information provided to it by legal and financial advisers who must submit details of trusts set up since December 2003. About 1,100 trust structures are currently under investigation for possible tax evasion. Some €19m was netted by Revenue from the probe in 2010, according to figures released last week.

The majority of the special investigations are winding down. The overall inquiries yielded nearly €43m in tax, interest and penalties in 2010 compared with €114m in 2009.

The probes, which cover everything from the Dirt inquiry, bogus non-resident accounts and money paid by individuals named in the Flood and Moriarty tribunal reports, have taken in €2.6bn from more than 34,000 people in the last decade.