India has received the fourth set of Swiss bank account details of its nationals and organisations as part of an annual automatic information exchange under which Switzerland has shared particulars of nearly 34 lakh financial accounts with 101 countries.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said Switzerland has agreed to share information on Indians having illicit money in Swiss banks on independent evidence provided in each case to the Alpine nation.
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The move draws a line under the Swiss government's rescue of UBS nearly five years after the bank threatened to collapse under the weight of more than $50 billion in losses on mortgage securities.
He was referring to the issue of Indians allegedly stashing unaccounted money in Swiss banks.
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 Reserve Bank of India on Monday directed all banks and financial institutions to provide information and documents sought by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to unearth black money.
He said this in Parliament rebutting reports last month, which quoted the Swiss National Bank, the country's central bank, as saying in its annual report that Indian deposits had risen by 50 per cent in 2017.
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.
The Swiss Finance Ministry spokesperson recently confirmed that a meeting is expected in the coming weeks, but did not disclose any further details.
The US Trade Representative noted that India's average applied tariff rate stood at 17% per cent, the highest of any major world economy.
If India was able to provide additional and new information about people and entities that figure on stolen lists, they may consider it to exchange information
State Bank of India was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 1.69 per cent, followed by Asian Paints, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HCL Technologies, Reliance Industries, Wipro, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Power Grid and HDFC twins. In contrast, Nestle, Maruti, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, ITC and Hindustan Unilever were among the gainers.
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.
Official sources said while the accounts of Nirav Modi, the diamantaire under arrest in this case in London, have deposits of $3,74,11,596 (Rs 258 crore) while the accounts in the name of his sister Purvi Modi has deposits of 27,38,136 (Rs 24 crore).
"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.
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.
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.
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Under pressure from India and other countries for sharing account details of suspected tax offenders, Swiss banks have said any information exchange would be according to the conditions set out by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the grouping of mostly developed nations.
The bank remains on high alert to intervene if markets freeze.
Of the eight RBI governors who have held office since the 1991 economic liberalisation, Bimal Jalan had the longest stint and S Venkitaramanan, the shortest. Current Governor Shaktikanta Das will overtake Bimal Jalan before completing his second term in December, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Marking the end of strict banking secrecy practices, Switzerland earlier this month agreed to automatic exchange of information and mutual administrative assistance in tax matters with overseas authorities.
The rupee depreciated 44 paise and slipped below the 81-mark against the US dollar for the first time in early trade on Friday, weighed down by the strong american currency and risk-off sentiment among investors. Forex traders said escalation of geopolitical risk in Ukraine and rate hikes by the US Fed and Bank of England in a bid to contain inflation sapped risk appetite. Further, the strength of the American currency in the overseas market, a negative trend in domestic equities, and risk-off moods amid escalation of geopolitical risk in Ukraine weighed on the local unit.
The S&P BSE Sensex dropped 1 points to end at 26,396 and the Nifty50 slipped 2 points to end at 8,109.
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.
The Singapore high court has put a freeze on deposits of $ 6.122 million following Enforcement Directorate's request on the ground that the money was "proceeds of crime" illegally siphoned off by Nirav Modi from the Punjab National Bank.
Some other tax authorities are looking at the allegations.
Swiss authorities are examining development grants made by FIFA around the world as part of their investigation.
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.
The Swiss National Bank, the country's central banking authority, has estimated the funds currently held by Indians in Swiss banks at a mere $1.98 billion. Fear of disclosure due to greater scrutiny of this illicit wealth has played the main role in the flight of capital.
Switzerland, long known as a place with unbreakable banking secrecy, has come under intense global pressure, including from India, to crack down on illicit fund flows.
Switzerland has been making efforts to strengthen its bilateral cooperation with India .
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In the past, several other Indian nationals have been named in such notifications after the Swiss FTA was approached by Indian authorities for information about those people with regard to the pending tax-related probes against them.
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Swiss govt's latest response comes against the backdrop of P Chidambaram shooting off another letter to his Swiss counterpart.
Under pressure from India and other countries, Switzerland has made key changes in its local laws governing assistance to foreign nations in their pursuit of black money allegedly stashed in Swiss banks.
It is suspected that some of these entities may have brought back their illicit wealth through the stock market route.
The Indian money in Swiss banks had fallen by 45 per cent in 2016, marking their biggest ever yearly plunge, to CHF 676 million (about Rs 4,500 crore) -- the lowest ever since the European nation began making the data public in 1987.
Industrialist Yash Birla, as also two Mumbai-based individuals behind City Limousines scam, are among five Indian nationals with Swiss bank accounts.
