France hands over list of 700 bank accounts in Switzerland

After the list of bank accounts of Indians in Liechtenstein, it is the turn of HSBC accounts in Geneva. The government last month received a list of some 700 bank accounts in Switzerland from the French government and investigations are already underway to determine whether any of the account holders evaded taxes.

Officials in the Finance Ministry told The Sunday Express that details of the majority of the HSBC accounts had already been received through diplomatic channels while other account details were awaited.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is said to be aware of the developments and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has been asked to scrutinise each account to probe possible tax evasion.

The Finance Ministry is learnt to have consulted Attorney General Goolam Vahanvati on the implications of the transfer of sensitive bank data and he is said to have pointed to provisions in Indian tax laws by which tax violations and criminality, wherever applicable, could be made out by using data received through such channels. (Indian Express)