The Finance Ministry will write to the Swiss authorities seeking details of Indians holding bank accounts in Swiss banks, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Monday.
Jaitley told reporters that contrary to media reports, the Government has not received any official communication from Swiss authorities for co-operation in sharing information.
“We are writing to the Swiss Authorities with which the Ministry is in touch so that details with regard to whatsoever information the authorities have can be expedited and co-operation between the Swiss authority and Government of India can bear fruitful results,” he said.
On Sunday, a news agency report, quoting a senior Swiss Government official, said Switzerland had prepared a list of Indians suspected to have stashed untaxed wealth in Swiss banks and the details are being shared with Indian Government.
The names of the Indian individuals and entities have come under scanner of the Swiss authorities during an ongoing exercise to identify real beneficiary owners of funds held in various banks operating in Switzerland, the report said.
According to latest data by the Swiss National Bank (the central bank of Switzerland), Indian money in Swiss banks rose by 43 per cent during 2013 to ₹14,000 crore , pushing its global ranking up to 58th from 70th at the end of 2012.
The previous Government had written to the Swiss authorities seeking information related to certain Indians at HSBC’s Swiss bank branches, but the Swiss authorities had rejected the request on the pretext that the information was being sought on the basis of stolen data and they claimed that the local laws do not permit exchange of information in such cases where some criminality may be involved for getting the data.
The new Government, in its Cabinet meeting, had approved the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the light of the Supreme Court verdict. The SIT, headed by former Supreme Court Justice MB Shah, has been charged with the responsibility and duties of investigation, initiation of proceedings and prosecution in cases of Hasan Ali and other matters involving unaccounted money. The team will have jurisdiction in the cases where investigations have already commenced or are pending or awaiting to be initiated or have been completed.
Action plan It will prepare a comprehensive action plan, including creation of necessary institutional structure, that could enable the country to fight the battle against unaccounted money. It will report to the court the status of work from time to time, a statement issued by the Government said. On May 23, the apex court had granted one week’s time to the Centre to set up SIT under Shah to monitor all black money cases according to its direction. The team held its first meeting on June 2.