Although offshore bank accounts have been popular for a number of years for citizens and businesses of every level of income, it is only recently that specific statements have been made by the United States government regarding offshore banking and the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution which says that a person doesn't not have to incriminate himself while under oath and can remain silent. This practice has been challenged by the government who used the case of a man suspected of hiding funds offshore who used the Fifth Amendment when the courts compelled him to reveal his financial circumstances.