The government will get comprehensive data on Indian deposits in Swiss banks from Switzerland by 2019-end and if anybody is found guilty, strict action will be taken, Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday. The quantum of money, black or white, will be clear only when the data is received, he said.
"Today, nobody has the guts to save money outside the country. This has been possible only because of the government's hard work," he told reporters here.
A joint declaration was signed last November between India and Switzerland to start collecting bank data in 2018 and exchange it from 2019.
Goyal was responding to media questions on latest data released by the Swiss National Bank (SNB), showing a 50 per cent surge in Indian deposits last year.
"From what I understand (from media reports), 40 per cent increase in foreign remittances is on account of the Reserve Bank's Liberalised Remittance Scheme brought during the previous (UPA) government under which a resident Indian can remit $250,000 per year," he said.
" if there is any wrongdoing revealed, we will take action. With the various measures of this government against black money, Swiss bank deposits have been decreasing," he said.
The data showed that after falling for three years after a clampdown on suspected black money, Indians deposits in Swiss banks rose over 50 per cent to 1.01 billion Swiss francs (Rs 7,000 crore) in 2017.
In comparison, the total funds held by all foreign clients of Swiss banks rose about 3 per cent to 1.46 trillion Swiss francs or about Rs 100 lakh crore in 2017, according to the official annual data released today by SNB, the central banking authority of Switzerland.
According to SNB data, Indian money in Swiss banks had fallen by 45 per cent in 2016, marking its biggest ever yearly plunge, to 676 million Swiss francs (about Rs 4,500 crore) -- the lowest since Switzerland began making the data public in 1987.
The total funds held by Indians directly with Swiss banks rose to 999 million Swiss francs (Rs 6,891 crore) in 2017, while the same held through fiduciaries or wealth managers increased to 16.2 million Swiss francs (Rs 112 crores). These figures stood at 664.8 million Swiss francs and 11 million Swiss francs at the end of 2016.
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"From what I understand (from media reports), 40 per cent increase in foreign remittances is on account of the Reserve Bank's Liberalised Remittance Scheme brought during the previous (UPA) government under which a resident Indian can remit $250,000 per year," he said.
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