New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley yesterday said a lot of ground had been covered by the government in unearthing black money and cases had been filed against 18 “illegal” account holders of the 28 accounts identified in the tax haven of Liechtenstein.
Jaitley, who replied to a debate in the Lok Sabha on the issue of black money, said 427 Indians holding a foreign bank account had been identified. He said 250 had admitted having such accounts.
The Congress staged a walkout to express its dissatisfaction with Jaitley’s reply.
The house saw concerted attempts by the opposition to nail down the government on the issue of black money, with many leaders alleging that the BJP had not been able to fulfil its poll promise.
They also demanded a time frame by which money illegally stashed abroad by Indians would be brought back. Some leaders also said the government should disclose the names.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the BJP’s position on black money was reflected in its election manifesto and the party did not talk of bringing it back in 100 days.
Jaitley rejected the opposition’s charges that the government was not doing enough and maintained that a lot of ground had been covered.
He said while 250 people had admitted having overseas bank accounts, more names would come up as cases were filed.
“Of the 28 accounts in Liechtenstein on which Germany had information, 18 accounts were illegal. We have concluded income tax proceedings, given the tax dues and the penalty. And cases have been filed against them,” Jaitley said.
The finance minister said that as things stood now, the Swiss authorities had been persuaded to at least establish the veracity of any evidence that the Indian government and the special team manages to procure from various sources regarding these accounts.
He said there was also an agreement with the Swiss authorities on automatic exchange of information in real time on tax evasion.
However, he noted that the confidentiality clause, which bars public disclosure of account details, covered all such agreements.
IANS
