Swiss to hand over ‘black money list’

• Switzerland govt prepares a list of slush money holders
  
• It is keen to provide details to the SIT set up in India
  
• India’s rank moves up to 58 from 70 in 2012
  
• Indian money up by 43% in 2013 at Rs 14,000 crore

Zurich: In a major boost to India’s fight against black money, Switzerland has prepared a list of Indians suspected to have stashed un-taxed wealth in Swiss banks and the details are being shared with Indian government.

The names of these Indian individuals and entities have come under scanner of the Swiss authorities during an ongoing exercise to identify real beneficiary owners of funds held in various banks operating in Switzerland, a senior Swiss government official said.

“These individuals and entities are suspected to have held un-taxed money in Swiss banks through structures like trusts, domiciliary companies and other legal entities based out of countries other than India,” the official told PTI.

He refused to divulge the identity of these persons and entities, as also the quantum of funds held by them in Swiss banks, citing confidentiality clause of a treaty between two countries. Meanwhile, India has moved up to 58th rank in terms of foreign money lying with Swiss banks, but it accounts for a meagre 0.15 percent of an estimated $1.6 trillion total global wealth held in Switzerland's banking system.

The UK has retained its top position with highest share of close to 20 percent of global wealth in Swiss banking system, followed by the US, West Indies, Germany and Guernsey in the top-five in terms of exposure to banks in Switzerland.

India now ranks higher than Pakistan, whose position has slipped from 69th earlier to 74th now, as its total exposure to Swiss banks declined from 1.44 billion Swiss francs at the end of 2012 to 1.23 billion Swiss francs in 2013.