Get India's Stolen Money Back

WASHINGTON, DC — Africa lost $854 billion in illicit financial outflows from 1970 through 2008, according to a new report to be released today from Global Financial Integrity (GFI).  Illicit Financial Flows from Africa: Hidden Resource for Development debuts new estimates for volume and patterns of illicit financial outflows from Africa, building upon GFI’s ground-breaking 2009 report, Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2002-2006, which estimated that developing countries were losing as much as $1 trillion every year in illicit outflows. The new Africa illicit flows report is expected to feature prominently at the 3rd Annual Conference of African finance ministers in Malawi, which is currently underway. “The amount of money that has been drained out of Africa—hundreds of billions decade after decade—is far in excess of the official development assistance going into African countries,” said GFI director Raymond Baker.  “Staunching this devastating outflow of muc...

Shruti Srivastava Posted online: Thursday , Mar 25, 2010 at 0106 hrs New Delhi : The political brouhaha over black money and unaccounted wealth stashed in Swiss banks has prompted the government to undertake a fresh study on the quantum of black money in the country. Almost 25 years after the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) attempted to estimate the quantum of black money in the economy, the government is finally considering appointing a new agency to undertake a comprehensive study. “We are thinking of setting up a new agency that would be more broad based and the study will cover all sectors,” Central Board of Direct Taxes chairman SSN Moorthy told The Indian Express. The study will focus on forms of black money and the channels from which such unaccounted money originates. The move comes after the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance last year raised concerns over the issue, criticising the government for turning away from its responsibility on cl...

Rajinder Puri On 20 OCTOBER, 2009, this scribe explained how the government was not pursuing the Hassan Ali Khan money laundering mega scam. The cover-up continues. Mr LK Advani is elated because the President’s address in Parliament referred to the issue of Indian black money stashed in foreign banks. Mr Advani has demanded a White Paper on the subject and has expressed satisfaction that the government has taken note of his concerns. However, his joy may be premature. A distinguished Chennai-based chartered accountant, Mr MR Venkatesh, who closely studied the current budget, has raised some pertinent questions that need clarification. The budget gave figures of the tax revenues raised but not realized by the government of India. This provides details of the unrealized dues on various taxes, such as Income Tax, Excise, Customs and Service tax. These are further categorized under amounts under dispute, where the assessee has filed an appeal, and those not under any dispute. According ...

Pradeep Thakur, TNN, Mar 20, 2010, 03.13am IST NEW DELHI: Mumbai-based bullion trader Manoj Punamia, who seems to hold the key in the multi-crore Koda scam investigation, has started to sing before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on his business partners in a development that is sure to cause anxiety to some top Jharkhand politicians and may unravel mysteries behind many alleged political kickbacks.   In a major boost to the investigations, Punamia gave some vital information to ED officials during his seven-and-half-hour questioning on Thursday (March 18) at the agency's Delhi office. He had already been questioned twice last week.   Sources said he will appear for questioning on Monday before Income Tax (I-T) authorities in Mumbai and again at the ED's Delhi office on Tuesday. The documentary evidence being provided by Punamia and his cooperation in getting other individuals to appear before the investigators for cross-examination is seen as a major breakthrough that wil...

The Daily Times, March 16, 2010 NEW DELHI: Indian opposition Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran Lal Krishna Advani has asked for a white paper on money stashed abroad in Swiss banks and other tax havens. Welcoming Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's announcement that the government is negotiating with 20 countries, including Switzerland, for exchange of information on Indian nationals who have hoarded their tax-evaded or ill-earned wealth abroad, he asked the government to publish a white paper on the issue as it was "duty-bound to share with people the outcome of their negotiations". He also asked the government to make public 50 names it got from Germany in this regard. However, he said, government affirmations will not suffice, particularly since the Congress leaders have been belittling a BJP task force that estimated Indian wealth abroad amounting to billions of Indian rupees. Advani was happy that the issue had now come on the government's agenda, "prin...

10 March 2010 (by Maria Victoria Garcia Ojeda) On February 10th, the European Parliament adopted by an overwhelming majority, (554 votes to 46, with 71 abstentions), a non-legislative resolution on promoting good governance in tax matters. This text, the so called Domenici report, represents great news for civil society organisations such as Eurodad that are advocating for strong measures to effectively tackle illicit outflows from developing countries. Many of these measures have been covered in the report:

Government finalizing information exchange agreements with tax haven governments The Hankyora (Korea), March 10, 2010 The government is finalizing a series of financial information exchange agreements with tax havens such as Switzerland in order to track down funds hidden overseas for the purpose of tax evasion. The agreements are being drawn up to restrict speculative capital and simultaneously fall in line with trends in advanced countries to boost tax revenue. According to data from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance on Tuesday, South Korea has since the latter part of last year signed tax agreements or has begun negotiations for tax agreements with 16 areas that are considered tax havens. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released a list in April of last year designated 42 countries tax havens. In September of last year, the government signed deals with Samoa, the Cook Islands and the Bahamas, while in January, it signed deals with Bermuda, G...

Times of India, March 6, 2010 NEW DELHI: India has prioritised a list of 20 countries and jurisdictions for negotiation of tax treaty facilitating exchange of information on ill-gotten wealth. Stating this in Parliament on Friday, PM Manmohan Singh said negotiations have been concluded with some of them. "Negotiations have been completed with Bahamas and Bermuda and steps are being taken for signing of agreements. We have also approached Switzerland for renegotiation of our tax treaty so that we can have access to bank information," he told the Lok Sabha. He said with Switzerland a new protocol is being worked out through which India would be able to obtain information in specific cases. The government has authorized Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to enter into memoranda of understanding with FIUs of other countries to exchange information pertaining to money laundering and terror funding. The Indian FIU has already signed agreements with Mauritius, Philippines, Brazi...

The Associated Press, March 2, 2010 GENEVA - Swiss lawmakers have asked the government to haul Germany to the world court for purchasing stolen financial data documenting Germans who evaded taxes by using Swiss banks. Lawmakers of the center-right Radical Party say Germany broke international law and violated Swiss national security when it bought a CD containing information about Swiss bank accounts. German authorities acknowledged buying the CD last week. But they declined to disclose how much they paid an informant, who reportedly asked for euro2.5 million ($3.5 million). The Swiss lawmakers said the government should take the case to the International Court of Justice within three months. The coalition government, which the Radical party is a member of, has yet to respond.

Over 2,000 Italians probed in new tax crackdown Reuters, February 26, 2010 ROME - Italy is investigating more than 2,000 citizens who stashed money abroad to evade taxes in the country's latest bid to recoup billions of euros hidden in offshore havens, the tax agency said on Friday. Italy, whose economy shrank nearly 5 percent last year, is one of several European countries under pressure to raise tax revenue and support their economies hit hard by the global financial crisis. The Italians being probed transferred more than 2 billion euros ($2.7 billion) abroad to tax havens between 2007 and 2008, the agency said, adding most were from northern or central Italy. The offensive follows a successful Italian tax amnesty that prompted Italians to declare 95 billion euros illegally held overseas, almost all of it repatriated to Italy. Italy is expected to reap a further 30 billion euros after extending the amnesty to April. The move comes as European governments step up the fight ...

India targets 'black' money The National (UAE), February 27, 2010 Indians have hidden about $1 trillion from tax authorities by some estimates, and New Delhi is stepping up its search at home and in overseas havens to increase collections. Anuj Chopra, foreign correspondent, reports India's tax collector is making a big push to grab its share of the country's massive off-the-books - or black - economy, particularly those funds stashed abroad. As part of the effort, the government plans to revise its tax treaties with at least 25 countries and renegotiate the agreements with 51 others. After introducing its annual budget last week, the government also plans to study the scale of tax evasion, which is estimated by the finance ministry to total about 40 per cent of the country's GDP. "My government has undertaken a number of steps to unearth unaccounted money parked outside India," the Indian president, Pratiba Patil, told parliament last week. "Re...

PM says in Parliament that illegal wealth kept by Indians in Tax Havens is USD 140 Billion.  That is at Rs 45 for USD it is  Rs.6,30,000 Crore [6.3 Lakh Crore rupees]. The economic survey [2009-10] suggests that our GDP at market prices for 2009-10 is Rs 61.64 Lakh crore [Advanced Estimate] This means slightly more than 10 percent of our current GDP is illegally kept abroad. Unfortunately PM has not given any source for his estimate.  But very useful first step. I Am sure this will be quoted for a long time  http://beta.thehindu.com/business/article176124.ece India will ensure return of black money from overseas: PM

Ms. Jaya Kamlani from USA:- Dear Milap, According to the article appended below, since Swiss banks came under global scrutiny recently, Cayman Islands has now become the top tax evasion haven in the world. The article also mentions, “Over the years, the Swiss government has also skillfully doled out intelligence dollops to its American counterparts to keep the U.S. government from pressing too much.”…. If this is happening in America, I suspect it is happening in India as well.  That’s why you don’t hear of the Indian government taking much action to uncover the tax evasion fraud. Looks like U.S. is losing the battle against tax evaders, as the Swiss banks have refused to cooperate.  The article states: “The federal investigation into UBS, which led to a $780 million fine and an agreement to turn over the names of more than 4,450 suspected tax cheats, is now in tatters after Swiss courts ruled against the executive-branch deal.” Regards, Jaya Kamlani, USA http://www.time...

Ms. Jaya Kamlani from USA:-    Dear Milap,  According to the article appended below, since Swiss banks came under global scrutiny recently, Cayman Islands has now become the top tax evasion haven in the world.     The article also mentions, “Over the years, the Swiss government has also skillfully doled out intelligence dollops to its American counterparts to keep the U.S. government from pressing too much.”…. If this is happening in America, I suspect it is happening in India as well.  That’s why you don’t hear of the Indian government taking much action to uncover the tax evasion fraud.     Looks like U.S. is losing the battle against tax evaders, as the Swiss banks have refused to cooperate.  The article states: “The federal investigation into UBS, which led to a $780 million fine and an agreement to turn over the names of more than 4,450 suspected tax cheats, is now in tatters after Swiss courts ruled against the executive-bran...

NEW DELHI: India has prioritised a list of 20 countries and jurisdictions for negotiation of tax treaty facilitating exchange of information on ill-gotten wealth. Stating this in Parliament on Friday, PM Manmohan Singh said negotiations have been concluded with some of them.  "Negotiations have been completed with Bahamas and Bermuda and steps are being taken for signing of agreements. We have also approached Switzerland for renegotiation of our tax treaty so that we can have access to bank information," he told the Lok Sabha.  He said with Switzerland a new protocol is being worked out through which India would be able to obtain information in specific cases.  The government has authorized Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to enter into memoranda of understanding with FIUs of other countries to exchange information pertaining to money laundering and terror funding.  The Indian FIU has already signed agreements with Mauritius, Philippines, Brazil, Mala...

 Dear Milap, For over half a century - western aid organizations have admirably worked to alleviate poverty in developing countries. Despite these efforts, over 3 billion people-or half the world-live on less than $2.50 per day. Indeed, more people live in poverty today than at any other time in human history.Click here to watch our video That's because for every 1 dollar in foreign aid sent to developing economies,10 dollars is flowing out illicitly. In fact illicit financial flows from developing economies total $1 trillion every year-10 times the amount offoreign aid received.But there is hope! We can curtail the devastating effects of dirty money by urging the G20 to create financial transparency in the international banking system.Today, Global Financial Integrity released a video urging people to do justthat. The video, titled "Who Suffers?" explains this problem and urges people to take action by signing the petition to the G20 at www.G20Transparency.com.Please joi...