The government of Switzerland would be ready to reveal the names and bank account details of Indians who have stashed away billions of dollars of black money in Swiss banks once the Indian Parliament ratifies the revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement that was recently signed between the two countries.
Marking a key milestone in the Indian government's fight against black money allegedly stashed abroad, India will get this month the complete information on flats, apartments and condominiums owned by Indians in Switzerland as also on earnings made from such properties to help it look into tax liabilities associated with those assets.
The ministry also said that certain 'references' have been received on the black money issue but declined to make the information public since it will 'impede the process of investigation' as the case is being heard in the apex court.
Noting that tax evasion is not a criminal offence in Switzerland, a senior Swiss official has acknowledged differences with India on what can be made public about Indians having unaccounted money parked in Swiss banks.
The income tax department has sought to prosecute Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani under the Black Money Act for allegedly evading Rs 420 crore in taxes on undisclosed funds worth more than Rs 814 crore held in two Swiss bank accounts.
A former employee of Swiss bank Julius Baer, Rudolf Elmer shot into limelight as a whistleblower in 2008.
Ambassador to India says there is a prescribed procedure in a treaty with India to get information on illegal stashes in Swiss bank accounts, which hasn't been used.
Is this 'Yashpal Kapoor' the late Congress leader, one of Indira Gandhi's closest aides in the 1970s?
What is currently perceived as a massive, low-tech liability could become a high-value, export-oriented economic engine, points out Ajit Balakrishnan.
Rajkot-based bullion trader Pankaj Lodhya, who has been named by the Centre in an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court in the black money case, on Monday denied having a foreign bank account and said he was shocked to find his name in the list.
Black money can take the form of a high-end property in Southeast Asia, a cruise ship floating on the Mediterranean or blue-chip shares held via an offshore fund manager.
Sanctioning Russian oil would have led to a sharp surge in oil prices to above $80 per barrel levels, which would impact pump prices in the US ahead of midterm elections next year.
"India and Switzerland are in renegotiations to adapt the existing double taxation treaty. Once this revised double taxation treaty comes into force, it will be possible to exchange account details," Swiss Federal Tax Administration spokesman Beat Furrer said.
Former Union law minister Ram Jethmalani on Thursday demanded setting up of a special investigation team to probe unaccounted money of Indians, estimated to the tune of $1500 billion, lying in Swiss and other foreign banks.
These companies are not registered with RBI or the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the key agencies regulating the financial markets.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said the agreement signed with Switzerland for sharing banking information on demand is likely to come into force by September.
He was referring to the issue of Indians allegedly stashing unaccounted money in Swiss banks.
Gold prices are likely to remain in a consolidation phase in the near term, but the overall bias will continue to stay positive amid heightened expectations of a US Federal Reserve rate cut in its September policy meeting, analysts said. Traders will closely track US macroeconomic data, such as Q2 GDP, PCE inflation, and speeches from Fed officials, which will provide more insights into the monetary policy stance of the Federal Reserve and the trajectory of the bullion sentiment, they added.
Red Square and VDNKh easily rank among the most striking places I've visited -- both for their historical significance and architectural splendour.
My admiration for Russian culture, vision and ambition grew with every step as I clocked the miles, Nitin Sathe tells us after a visit to Moscow and St Petersburg.
Private banks in Switzerland are not allowing their top executives to travel abroad because of the apprehension that they would be detained, as the authorities are cracking the whip on banks over secrecy matters, says a media report.
Britain's wealthiest family, the Hindujas, have said they were 'appalled' by a Swiss court's ruling of jail terms for some members and have filed an appeal in a higher court challenging the verdict finding them guilty of exploiting vulnerable domestic workers from India at their villa in Geneva.
There was a whole lot of cha-ching, including a Rs 21 crore watch worn with princely ease.
India and Switzerland, on August 30, 2010, signed a protocol amending the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement.
The amended treaty will enable India to get banking information in specific cases, beginning April 1, 2011.
Switzerland's 'Alpine Messi' Xherdan Shaqiri, hot from a hat-trick against Honduras in his last game, meets the real Messi on Tuesday as the Europeans seek a major World Cup upset when they face Argentina in the last 16.
Switzerland's Ambassador to India Linus von Castelmur also said the past cannot be undone, while promising full support of his country in cases where at least some proof is provided on tax frauds.
'Right now, silver -- and especially platinum -- are very cheap compared to gold. If I were buying today, I would choose platinum.'
The government has stated that it will make all efforts to bring back illicit wealth parked by its citizens in foreign jurisdictions.
Out of these, no balance has been found in case of 289 accounts
The Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to hear on May 4 the petition filed by former law minister and advocate Ram Jethmalani and others seeking a direction to the government for taking action to bring back money stashed in foreign banks.
In interview with FSA in front of Sebi, mystery man denies owning UBS account used to execute $2.5-billion unauthorised trades.
Activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal on Friday took on the issue of hawala money stashed in Swiss bank accounts.
Amid concerns of bullion trade being used for routing of black money, Switzerland's gold exports to India have risen further and is fast approaching Rs 1-trillion mark for the entire 2014.
Gulliver had about $7.6 million pounds in a Swiss account in 2007.
Two Indian women figure among scores of foreign nationals with Swiss bank accounts, whose names have been made public by Switzerland in its official gazette for being probed in their respective countries.
Swiss banking professionals under the agies of the Swiss Bankers Association met the Reserve Bank of India officials on Wednesday to discuss areas of cooperation. They also apprised the Indian banking regulator about the steps that Swiss authorities had initiated to implement stringent anti-money laundering laws.
Switzerland has been making efforts to strengthen its bilateral cooperation with India .
The details are being shared with India on a 'spontaneous' basis and are different from the information sought earlier by the Indian authorities on the basis of 'leaked' or 'stolen' lists of certain banks.
The US Trade Representative noted that India's average applied tariff rate stood at 17% per cent, the highest of any major world economy.
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