Indian black money stashed away abroad

Indian black money stashed away abroad

What is the status of Indian black money stashed away abroad and what the government is doing to bring it back?

While official numbers are not available, Swiss banking officials have said that the largest depositors of illegal foreign money in Switzerland are Indian. In February 2012, CBI director A P Singh said: “It is estimated that around 500 billion dollars of illegal money belonging to Indians is deposited in tax havens abroad”.

In August 2010, the government revised the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) to provide means for investigations of black money in Swiss banks. This revision will allow the government to make inquiries of Swiss banks in cases where they have specific information about possible black money being stored in Switzerland.

In 2011, the Indian government received the names of 782 Indians who had black money saved in HSBC. As of December, 2011, the Finance Ministry has refused to reveal the names, though they did confirm that no current MPs are on the list.

What is the ruling of the Supreme Court on black money stashed away in foreign banks?

In January 2011, the Supreme Court of India (SC) asked why the names of those who have stashed money in the Liechtenstein Bank have not been disclosed. The court argued that the government should be more forthcoming in releasing all available information on what it called a “mind-boggling” amount of money that is believed to be held illegally in foreign banks.  The SC on 4 July 2011, ordered the appointment of a Special Investigating Team (SIT) headed by former SC judge BP Jeevan Reddy to act as a watchdog and monitor investigations dealing with the black money. This body would report to the SC directly and no other agency will be involved in this. The government subsequently challenged this order.

Mention the Tax Information Exchange Agreements India has entered into recently.

To curb black money, India has signed TIEA with 10 countries - Bahamas, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Isle of Man, the Cayman Island, the British island of Jersey, Monaco, St Kitts and Nevis, Argentina and the Marshal Islands - where money is believed to have been stashed away.

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