FM Arun Jaitley on black money: 427 foreign bank a/c holders identified

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said the government will be “extremely pro-active” in chasing those who have stashed black money abroad and that it has already tracked down 427 of more than 600 who have accounts in the Geneva branch of HSBC.

But the names can be made public only after the initiation of prosecution proceedings against them, Jaitley told the Rajya Sabha, replying to a debate on black money.

“We are on the right track … We are on course … special investigation team has given its first report to the Supreme Court,” Jaitley said, countering opposition charge that the BJP has moved away from its promise of unearthing back money.

The minister said the government has shown more results than any other in 100 days. Already 250 people have admitted to having accounts abroad, he said. “The procedure will take time. But we will have foolproof procedure.”

He said the government has sent notices to the 427 identified account holders. “In next few weeks, more prosecution cases will be filed … Once the cases go for prosecution, names will become public … All assessment proceedings will be completed,” he said, adding that all international treaties have confidentiality clauses and cautioned that any violation of those provisions will just be a one-day thrill.

“…no authority will provide us with details (if we violate the provisions),” he said. “We are moving to a global regime where information would be exchanged automatically … But, all these agreements have confidentiality clauses.”

The minister pointed that of the 92 double-taxation-avoidance agreements, 91 have confidentiality clauses.

Jaitley said that the government has entered into a new agreement with Switzerland that will allow India to get information on accountholders where independent investigation had been carried out. He pointed that though information on accountholders had come earlier as well, India signed a revised treaty with Switzerland only in 2010 allowing for sharing of data.

Black money was one of the key poll issues during campaigns, with the BJP promising to bring back funds parked in overseas accounts.