Indian black money in Swiss banks down 80% under NDA: Government
New Delhi, July 24 : Indian black money deposits in Swiss banks went down by 34 per cent between 2016 and 2017 and by over 80 per cent since the BJP government came to power in 2014, an official statement said on Tuesday.
Referring to Swiss National Bank (SNB) data last month which showed that after falling for three years in succession, money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose 50 per cent to Swiss francs 1.02 billion in 2017 over the previous year, a Finance Ministry release here said that a more reliable source of Indian black money stashed in Swiss banks is available from the data which the SNB collects jointly with the Bank for International Settlements.
"More often than not, the media reports have not taken account of the way the (SNB) figures have to be interpreted, which has resulted in misleading headlines and analyses. Moreover, it is frequently assumed that any assets held by Indian residents in Switzerland are undeclared (so-called 'Black Money')," it said.
"However, the cited figures that show an increase of 50 per cent in Swiss banks' total liabilities towards India also include non-deposit liabilities as well as business of Swiss branches located in India. To analyze Indian residents' deposits held in Switzerland, another data source should be used.
"This is the so-called 'locational banking statistics', which the SNB collects in collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). This data source shows that the liabilities in the form of loans and deposits of Swiss-domiciled banks towards Indian non-banks decreased by 44 per cent between 2016 and 2017," it added.
The Finance Ministry noted that BIS data showed "non-bank loans and deposits (which really constitute the individual and corporate deposits used as black money haven in the past and exclude inter-bank transactions) have fallen by 34.5 per cent in 2017 compared to 2016 ($524 million in 2017 versus $800 million in 2016)".
It said Swiss non-bank loans and deposits have reduced by a significant 80.2 per cent under the NDA government between 2013 and 2017.
"This broadly corresponds SNB reports which show an 82 per cent reduction in total Indian customer deposits in Switzerland since 2013, though BIS data is the right way to measure actual deposits from India in Switzerland," it added.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament earlier on Tuesday, acting Finance Minister Piyush Goyal refuted the allegations made by Congress President Rahul Gandhi and other opposition members in this regard.
"The Swiss government has informed us that the news being spread by Rahul Gandhi is baseless and that the figures quoted by some political leaders are completely irrelevant to this issue," he said.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
