Govt to probe new Indian names in HSBC list: Jaitley

New Delhi, Feb 9: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said new names of Indians with Swiss bank accounts have come up and their veracity will be checked while 60 prosecutions have already been launched, as a fresh HSBC list revealed by an international body of journalists named more Indians, including big corporates and political leaders.

Jaitley said that the tax department has launched 60 prosecutions from an earlier list of Indian account holders in a Swiss branch of HSBC bank and most of the names revealed in today's list are known to the government.

"Some new names have been revealed whose veracity would be checked by authorities," he told reporters here, while adding that the government has put in vigorous efforts towards digging black money during the last 6-7 months. He was reacting to a story in the Indian Express, which said that 1,195 Indian names figure in the HSBC list with a total balance of Rs 25,420 crore, as part of an investigation by an international body of journalists.

Many of the names have already been disclosed, but there are some new additions, including that of prominent corporate leaders, politicians, NRIs and others. Many of these accounts could be legitimate.

Jaitley said that he had met top Swiss authorities, including Switzerland's Finance Minister, in Davos last month and it was agreed there that admission by assessees would be considered additional evidence to seek details.

The Indian names revealed today are part of a global list of account holders in HSBC's Swiss private banking arm and their balances for the year 2006-07. They include persons from over 200 countries with total balance of over USD 100 billion. The 1,195 Indian names are nearly double the 628 names that figured in an earlier HSBC list that was shared by the French government with India in 2011.

PTI