India not keen on black money: Swiss govt

Swiss government spokesman Folco Galli told Headlines Today that the Indian government was informed about the fake documents by Swiss authorities in January 2007 itself. Further, the Swiss claimed to have submitted certain queries to the Indian government in April 2007 but New Delhi has not bothered to file a reply even 24 months later.

Since the black money issue became a major election plank for the Lok Sabha polls, the Centre claimed in the Supreme Court that it has been doing what it can to bring back the black money stashed in Swiss banks. The Centre's affidavit in the SC however fails to mention that the Swiss have questioned the authenticity of the documents.

In fact, the Swiss spokesman's answer seems to suggest there has been little or no action from the government's side for the last two years in seriously pursuing the probe against Hassan Ali Khan.

The last sentence in the response of the Swiss is telling. Galli says, "India makes only few requests per year to Switzerland for legal aid in tracking down black money."

Given the black economy is considered much bigger than the Indian economy, the UPA government has a lot to answer for.


The Centre has been claiming that Swiss domestic laws don't allow them to access their bank accounts.



Courtesy India Today