Black money: India to get its nationals’ Swiss bank details,
SIT readies further action-Times of India
ZURICH/NEW DELHI: India's efforts to crackdown on black money stashed abroad on Sunday got a major boost with Switzerland readying a list of Indians suspected to have un-taxed money in Swiss banks, while special investigation team constituted by Indian government promised action if any illegality is found.
The names of certain Indian individuals and entities came under the scanner of the Swiss authorities during an ongoing exercise to identify the real beneficiary owners of funds held in various banks operating in Switzerland, a senior Swiss government official told PTI.
The list of such people and entities is being shared with India, while further details would also be provided in due course and all necessary administrative assistance would be made available as well, he said.
Reacting to the development, Justice MB Shah, who is heading the SIT on black money in India, said that the list would be verified and action would be taken against those found to have kept unaccountable money.
The Swiss government official refused to divulge the identity of the concerned entities as also the quantum of funds involved, citing the confidentiality clause of the information exchange framework between India and Switzerland.
He, however, said that they are suspected to have held untaxed money in Swiss banks through structures like trusts, domiciliary companies and other legal entities based out of countries other than India.
The Indian link of these entities came to the fore after enquiries by the banks and regulatory authorities about the source of the funds and the beneficiary ownership of such accounts.
The development comes at a time when the official data published by Switzerland's central bank, SNB, has shown that Indian money in various Swiss banks rose by 43 per cent during 2013 to close to Rs 14,000 crore, while including the money held directly by Indian clients and those through fiduciaries or wealth managers.
The Swiss official said that these funds might not necessarily be illicit funds as these clients have themselves declared to be Indians.
He also dismissed claims about Indians having trillions of dollars of black money in Swiss banks, saying that the total size of foreign money from across the world in all 283 banks operating in Switzerland stands at just about $1.6 trillion.
Justice Shah also said, "... It is not a list of only black money. It is a list of those persons who are also legally vested. It is a combined list. We are asking for the list of the said persons. Then we will verify. Then action is taken."
"If it is legal we cannot do anything, If it is illegal or unaccounted money then we take action. It depends on which manner the amount is deposited," he added.
The Swiss government official also said that Switzerland is looking forward to working with the new government in India and it will also extend all possible support to the SIT on black money
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