Crackdown begins on illicit money abroad; details under wraps

Having received information from HSBC bank in Geneva about money stashed by Indians there, tax enforcement agencies are probing details the accounts of politicians, businessmen, and others.

The probe includes searches on some of the individuals figuring in the hundreds of secret accounts held in that bank alone, said to be running into around Rs3,000 crores.

Earlier reports said the HSBC accounts numbered 700, with the amount involved being about Rs3,000 crore; and that the information came from the French government.

However, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday denied reports that some members of parliament have been summoned for ''keeping secret accounts'' in HSBC Geneva. He acknowledged that the government had received information from various banks abroad about undisclosed income of Indians. Based on that, notices were being sent to people involved in such black money cases.

Mukherjee told reporters that the names would be disclosed after initiation of prosecution proceedings. "As and when the information (is received), investigation starts, prosecution takes place (and) matter comes to the court ... then, as per the existing treaty terms, we can reveal the names in cases of prosecution by the Income Tax Department," he said.

In an official statement, the Central Board of Direct Taxes denied reports that three MPs from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh were summoned to Delhi to explain the source of funds parked in their bank accounts in Geneva.