The spurt in 'black money' of Indian citizens stashed in Swiss bank is false, the Finance Ministry has claimed. Swiss authorities said on June 18 that Indian citizens' deposits in their country's banks have nearly tripled in a year.
According to the data released by the Swiss government on Friday, Indian citizens had deposits of Rs 20,700 crore in Swiss bank at the end of 2020. According to the claims of the Swiss authorities, a total of Rs 6,625 crore was deposited by Indian citizens there at the end of 2019. That is, during Covid, this amount increased almost three times.
According to the figures released by the Swiss authorities, till 2019, the trend of two years of decline in the deposits of Indian citizens has reversed. It is to be noted here that the level of such deposits till the end of 2020 is the highest in the last 13 years.
The Finance Ministry says that the media reports only mention those figures, which have been given by the banks to the Swiss National Bank (SNB). There is no indication from them as to how much black money Indian citizens are hiding in Swiss banks.
The Indian government also says that the figures released by the Swiss authorities do not include the amount deposited by Indian citizens, overseas Indians or other people in Swiss banks through institutions operating in any third country.
According to the Finance Ministry, in fact, deposits of Indian customers have come down from the level of 2019. The amount deposited through trusts has also come down to less than half what it was then. The biggest increase in deposits of Indian citizens in Swiss banks has been in 'Other Amounts'. This amount is in the form of bonds, securities and other financial instruments.
The government has said that the two countries have signed an agreement to assist each other in tax matters. An agreement between them is such that both the countries have to inform each other about the financial accounts of their citizens every year from 2018. This system has been effective in preventing tax evasion through undeclared assets abroad.
The Finance Ministry says that both the countries have informed each other about the financial accounts of their citizens in 2020 under these agreements. Therefore, there is no possibility of a sharp jump in the amount deposited in Swiss banks from the undisclosed income of Indian citizens. The Government of India has sought information from the Swiss authorities to find out what could be the reason for the increase/decrease in deposits of Indian citizens.
Like and Follow us on :
