Q can now access his Swiss bank money, says BJP

The withdrawal of red corner notice against Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, a suspect in the Bofors scam, was to enable him to travel and access the money he stashed in tax havens and Swiss banks, the BJP said on Wednesday.

“This facility of travel has been provided to him so that he can access his money lying in tax havens. His presence would be required to operate these accounts,” BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley said.

“Quattrocchi’s travel is directly linked to his bank accounts. The UPA government was in a hurry to permit him to travel for this reason,” Jaitley said. The BJP has pledged to bring back Indian black money stashed in foreign banks and tax havens within 100 days of being voted to power.

The party also attacked attorney general Milon Banerjee, alleging that instead of arguing for the prosecution in any of the consequential or important cases, he has been giving his legal opinion only to close them.

Attacking Banerjee for advising to take Quattrocci off the wanted list, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said the attorney general’s “collusive opinion” is being abused by the UPA government.

“India’s attorney general has not argued a single major case, not even one, in five years. But his legal opinion to close cases always comes,” said Prasad. “The office of the senior law officer of the country has not only been devalued and undermined but also abused,” he said.