As has been pointed out by Bibek Debroy ( Holes in Swiss cheese, Indian Express, Jan.26,2011) nearly 20 to 25 percent of our GDP constitutes black money in India, if not 40 percent as some economists have estimated. According to the Global Financial Integrity Report India has lost a colossal amount of $213 billion between 1948 and 2008 to tax heavens, the present value of which is $462 billion. The Indian state has failed to get this money which belongs to the people of India. We do not see any urgency in the actions of the government of India, but only some excuses. It gives rise to the suspicion that politicians and businessmen may be the culprits.
The German government paid an ex-LGT ( Liechtenstein Global Trust) to part with the accounts held by Germans in LGT which contained names of 26 Indians as well which was passed on to India. Nobody knows what action the government has taken on the Indian account holders. The reports indicate that the US government was able to get information on US citizens having accounts with UBS bank of Switzerland. Indian people may have to wait to get some Indian names from WikiLeaks. What a shame !
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/holes-in-swiss-cheese/742291/0
January 26,2011.
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