Black money case: Swiss Banks share details of 11 Indians

NPnews24 Online New Delhi : Switzerland has accelerated the process of sharing information about Indians holding accounts in its banks. Only about a dozen Indians have been given notice in this regard alone in the last week. Switzerland authorities have given at least 25 notices to Indian customers of Swiss banks since March, as one last chance of appealing against sharing their information with the Government of India.

Switzerland has been known as a major global financial center for the privacy of customers who hold accounts in its banks. But after the global agreement on tax evasion, this wall of privacy is no longer there. Swiss government has done agreement with the Indian government about sharing the information of the account holders. Such agreements have also been done with other countries.

According to Switzerland’s Federal Tax Department’s notice regarding sharing of information about Swiss consumers, Switzerland has hastened the process of sharing information with some countries in recent times. During the past few weeks, there has been a lot of increase in matters related to India. The Government of Switzerland has not disclosed the full names of customers in public information released by the gazette, but have just given the initial letters of the name. Apart from this, the nationality of the consumer and birth date has been mentioned. According to the gazette, notices were issued to 11 Indians on May 21.

The two names of the Indians whose details have been given include Krishna Lord Ramchand born in May 1949 and Kalpesh Harshad Kiniariwala, born in September 1972. However, other information about them has not been disclosed.

These notices have said that concerned customers or any of their authorized representatives will be present with the necessary documentary evidence to appeal within 30 days.