India has received the fourth set of Swiss bank account details of its nationals and organizations as part of the annual information exchange, under which Switzerland has shared particulars of nearly 34 lakh financial accounts with 101 countries. Officials said details related to hundreds of financial accounts have been shared with India. This includes accounts of certain individuals, companies, and trusts.
However, he did not elaborate, citing the confidentiality clause under the Exchange of Information as it may adversely affect further investigation. Officials said the data could be used to investigate suspected cases of theft and other irregularities, including money laundering and terrorism financing.
The Federal Tax Administration (FTA) said in a statement on Monday that five new regions -- Albania, Brunei Darussalam, Nigeria, Peru, and Turkey -- have been added to the list this year through the exchange of information. The number of financial accounts has increased by about one lakh.
Information was exchanged with 74 countries. Switzerland also received information from these countries. But in the case of 27 countries, including Russia, no information has been given. This is either because these countries have not yet met international requirements on privacy and data protection or they have chosen not to receive the data.
However, the FTA did not disclose the names and other information of the 101 countries. But officials said India was one of the prominent countries to have been reported for the fourth year in a row about the accounts of individuals and organizations in Swiss financial institutions.
According to officials, the exchange of information took place last month and Switzerland will now share the information in September next year. India first got the data from Switzerland in September 2019 with an automatic exchange of information. It was one of the 75 countries to which the information was made available at the time. Last year, India was included in the list of 86 countries receiving information.
According to experts, the data obtained under the automatic exchange of information systems has been useful for India to pursue a strong case against those who have huge assets. Because it gives complete details about deposit and transfer of money. Along with this, information about other income including earnings received through investments in securities and other assets is also available.
Officials also said that the details pertaining to businessmen, including overseas Indians. These migrants have now settled in many Southeast Asian countries as well as the US, UK, and some African countries and South American countries. Switzerland had agreed to the automatic exchange of information with India after a long process. This included a review of the legal framework for data protection and privacy in India, among other things.