Union Government disclosed names of black money account holders in an affidavit to SC

The Union Government on 27 October 2014 disclosed names of black money account holders in an affidavit to Supreme Court (SC). The affidavit was filed after the union government was attacked by political rivals that it was cautious of revealing names.

These account holders were suspected for stashing black money in foreign banks. The names revealed by the government were:
•    Pradip Burman, one of Dabur India promoters
•    Bullion trader Pankaj Chimanlal Lodhya
•    Goa-based mining company Timblo Pvt Ltd and its five directors Radha Satish Timblo, Chetan S Timblo, Rohan S Timblo, Anna C Timblo and Mallika R Timblo

They were charged under various sections of the Income Tax Act and Money Laundering Act. These names were received from French authorities and other countries.

The affidavit also includes the names of 18 trusts which merited prosecution under the Income Tax Act for evasion of tax. Prosecution has been launched in these cases except in one case where the tax payer has died.

The government will disclose the information received from foreign countries in all the cases where tax evasion is established. However, it mentioned that all foreign bank accounts cannot be termed as illegal.

Background
A special investigation team was set up by the Supreme Court  in July 2011 to probe accounts in banks in Liechtenstein which the German government had disclosed at that time.

The Supreme Court directed for the complete disclosure of information on people who have black money abroad.  

According to the Swiss National Bank data, the wealth stashed abroad by Indians went from 9514 crore rupees in 2012 to 14000 crore rupees in 2013. However, according to Global Financial Integrity, a Washington-based think tank, Indians have about 26 lakh crore rupees in tax havens abroad.

The Union government is committed to take action against people who hold illegal money in foreign bank accounts.