CPM asks govt to seek details of Swiss bank accounts

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CPM asks govt to seek details of Swiss bank accounts 23 Feb 2009, 1459 hrs IST, PTI

NEW DELHI: With one of the Swiss banks agreeing to provide information to the US about its account- holders, the CPM on Monday demanded that the UPA government should seek details of Indians who have illegally stashed funds in Switzerland and other tax havens.

The CPM Polit Bureau said it is imperative that the UPA government demand details of Indian account-holders from Swiss banks and from banks in other tax havens.

"In the case of India, it is not only a case of tax evasion but also of funds being illegally stashed abroad, or used for money laundering," the CPM said in a statement.

The CPM reminded the government that UBS, the largest Swiss Bank, has agreed to provide information to the US of account-holders who are suspected to have evaded taxes in America while British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also called for such an action.

"If the (UPA) government is serious about stopping black money and raising resources to meet growing economic crisis, it must take steps to bring back the unaccounted or ill-gotten wealth of Indians abroad," the party said.

The Swiss banks with secret accounts are known to hold substantial sum of money deposited by Indians, it said adding "these funds amounting to billions of dollars were either illegally taken out of the country or were deposited in Switzerland and other tax havens instead of being repatriated to India."