BJP attacks govt on black money, releases task force report

The issue of black money is not just about tax evasion but also about funding terrorism and rising corruption, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) patriarch L K Advani said here on Tuesday, launching an attack on the ruling group.

L K Advani along with other National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders released its second task force report on black money at a press conference.

He said the NDA on Tuesday discussed the contents of the Second Report of the BJP Task force on ?Indian Black Money Abroad in Secret Banks and Tax Havens?.

Drawing on authoritative references, this report has dealt with the issue from multi-dimensional perspectives of global economy, geo-politics and global financial distress.

“The issue of tax evasion is not big thing in Switzerland. It is not a crime there and so all used to deposit there because here there was heavy taxation in old days. But the issue is of the money from other crimes,” he said.

“Later terrorism and corruption money went there. Even money for terrorism comes from there,” Advani said.

“Now when there are so many scams are erupting, beginning from Commonwealth Games to 2G spectrum to defence housing and land, it is getting murkier and stinking,” Advani said.

He said the BJP formed the task force in 2009 to bring back the money that had been stashed away in Swiss banks.

He said in a recent survey by a publication the people said they think politicians are most corrupt.

Advani said it was in April 2008 that he had first written a letter to the Prime Minister on the issue of Indian wealth stashed in foreign banks.

“This was in relation specifically to the LTG Bank in Lichtenstein,” he said.

“After the BJP Task Force had given its first Report I had sent him that Report and urged him in a letter dated 19th April 2009 to pursue the matter.

“On Jan 6, 2011 the NDA considered the issue and addressed a comprehensive letter to the Prime Minister. The letter has not received any reply as yet.,” he said.

Taking on the ruling Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, Advani said the NDA would bring up the issue in the next session (budget) of Parliament.

The second report spells out some national efforts that are needed to stop this outflow and to retrieve the lost wealth, he said. The First Report was submitted to the BJP in April 2009.

The NDA has broadly endorsed the Task Force?s Report, Advani said.

He said the IMF estimates the global black economy at US $18 billion which is considered an underestimate.

He said the Finance Minister of India too has estimated that the quantum of Indian wealth stashed away in various tax havens may total to several lakh crores in Indian rupees!

“The Government of India tends to treat the issue as a matter only of tax evasion. The Global Financial Integrity, a global NGO committed to financial transparency, says that the Indian monies stashed away abroad consist of ‘tax evasion, corruption, bribery and kickbacks and criminal activities’,” he said.

“Simply put, black money and its being stashed abroad are unpatriotic acts and they tantamount to financial terrorism,” he said.

“As early as 2007, Shri MK Narayanan, the then National Security Advisor expressed his concern regarding the possibility of terror funds coming through financial markets,” he said.

“The report states how not just powerful countries like the US, but even smaller countries like Philippines, Peru, Nigeria and Tunisia could move the global opinion and the Swiss government to assist them in recovering hundreds of billions of dollars stashed away by their corrupt leaders.

“As a contrast in India even well known cases of bribery and money laundering, including the Liechtenstein Bank disclosures, the hawala affair of Hasan Ali, the Quattrocchi case and the alleged foreign account maintained in the name of a former Prime Minister of India belonging to the Congress party have not been investigated, or investigation into which are being stymied,” Advani said.

“Furthermore, even though the Enforcement Directorate had ?proposed? to arrest Ali in December 2008 he has not been arrested as yet.”

He said Indian government has not even ratified the UN Convention against Corruption which provides for procedures to recover lost wealth.

He said the Supreme Court has demanded an ?action taken? report on all ?faceless? Indians who had moved their ill-gotten money overseas and ?not treat it as merely tax avoidance?.

The NDA demanded that the Government of India immediately ratify the UN Convention against Corruption, cases registered against the accused people who are unknown and the Government enact a law to get possession of that money as huge Indian capital have been illegally stashed away from India by Indians without declaring the same to the Indian authorities.

“Through this new law, it should be declared that the Government of India is the beneficiary of all those monies, assets and bank accounts held abroad by or to the benefit of Indian nationals,” he said.

“The law may contain due process clauses suggested by the Task Force to make it acceptable to other nations. On the basis of the said law, the Government of India can ask the countries where secret banking exists like Switzerland, to recognize Indian government as the beneficiary of the undeclared wealth and disclose the monies held by them,” he said.

He also appealed to the people of India, the judiciary, media, intellectuals, academics, and all public-spirited citizens to exert pressure on the Government and political leaders and compel them to act decisively on the issue forthwith.