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Indian money-laundering probe looming for Swiss?

Chris Hamblin, Editor, London, 9 April 2015

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FINMA, the Swiss financial regulator, is denying all knowledge of any threat from the Indian Government to commence a criminal investigation if it does not hand over the names of Indians who hoard untaxed money in Swiss banks.

Its annual report for 2014 does, however, say this on page 38: "Germany, France, Belgium and Argentina have followed the US in launching high­profile criminal investigations, while Israel and India are threatening to do so. FINMA is keeping a close eye on these proceedings..."

The story, whatever its veracity, is all over the Indian press. FINMA, which has recently increased its enforcement wing to 15% of its head-count, denied everything when Compliance Matters called.

A new AML drive in India

DNA India reports that Arun Jaitley, the finance minister, announced plans for a government-sponsored 'black money bill' in his budget speech on 28 February 28. The Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets Bill has now been tabled in the lower house of the Indian parliament. In its present form, the paper says, it proposes a penalty of 300% on wealth hidden abroad and up to 10 years' imprisonment. The period in which it proposes to allow offenders to come clean is said to be a brief one.

Hero or data-thief?

Switzerland has more than one criminal investigation to fear from India. Hervé Falciani, the so-called 'whistle-blower' from HSBC, said in February that there were nearly 1,700 Indians on a list of those who held accounts in 2007 at HSBC's Geneva branch, where according to him the facilitation of tax-avoidance took place. He is now collaborating with the Indian Government in efforts to retrieve monies, according to the NDTV website.

Narendra Modi, India's reformist prime minister (pictured), has made the fight against money-laundering a central plank of his policy and campaigned on the subject during last year's general election which put him in power.

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