New Delhi: Seeking to expedite information sharing from the European nation, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the government will write to Switzerland seeking details of Indians having unaccounted money in Swiss banks.
The Minister’s remark comes a day after a Swiss government official told PTI those names of certain persons and entities, which have come under scanner of Swiss authorities, is being shared with India. Jaitley said his Ministry is yet to receive official communication in this regard.
We are today writing ourselves to the Swiss authorities with whom the Ministry has been in touch so that details with regard to whatever information the authorities have can be expedited and the cooperation between the Swiss authorities and the government of India can bring fruitful results. Our communication will be sent today itself,” Jaitley said here.
According to the latest data published by Switzerland’s central bank SNB, Indian money in various Swiss banks rose by 43 per cent during 2013 to close to Rs 14,000 crore, including the money held directly by Indian clients and those through fiduciaries or wealth managers.
Swiss government has been refusing to share details about the Indians named in this ‘HSBC list’, which was stolen by a bank employee and later found its way to tax authorities in various countries including India.
Despite repeated requests from India, Switzerland had maintained that its local laws prohibit administrative assistance in matters where information has been sourced illegally, including through stolen lists.
The said ‘HSBC list’ allegedly contains names of Indians and other foreign nationals having ill-gotten wealth in Swiss unit of the global banking major.
India is one of the 36 countries with which Switzerland has signed treaties to provide administrative assistance in tax matters in accordance with international standards
Bureau Report
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