India's Supreme Court yesterday ordered a special investigation into undeclared money stashed in foreign bank accounts, while accusing the government of "serious lapses" in handling the issue.
Voicing concerns that such "black money" could be used for "unlawful and anti-national activities", the court said government efforts to locate and recover the funds had been half-hearted.
Estimates for the amount of illicit money deposited secretly in overseas bank accounts by wealthy Indians and corporations range from $500 billion to $1.4 trillion.
The government insists it is doing all it can to uncover the funds, but argues that it is hamstrung by legal restrictions and the lack of tax information exchange agreements with a number of renowned tax havens.
Supreme Court Justice Sudershan Reddy slammed the government's "lack of seriousness and effect" and highlighted what the bench called "serious lapses in the investigation".
The court appointed a special committee, headed by a former supreme court judge, to take the probe forward and ordered the government to disclose the names of those currently under investigation.
Back in February, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said legal notices had been served on 17 people in connection with foreign bank holdings.
But he added that international agreements and other legal hurdles prevented their identities from being revealed.
Opposition parties have been quick to pick up on public anger over the black money issue, accusing the government of seeking to cover up the scale of the problem.
Source: The Daily Star
