Indian Money In Swiss Banks Dips To Record Low At 9,000 Cr

SNB's official figures do not include the money that Indians or others might have in Swiss banks in the names of others.

The sharp decline in Indian money in Swiss banks during 2012 followed a significant increase in the previous year, when such funds had risen for the first time in five years.

The quantum of funds held by Indians in Swiss banks stood at a record high level of 6.5 billion Swiss francs (over 41,000 crore) at the end of 2006, but has declined by over five billion Swiss francs (over 32,000 crore) since then.

For clients across the world, total funds in Swiss banks stood at a record high level of $2.6 trillion at the end of 2007, but has fallen by over USD one trillion since then.

In a White Paper on black money tabled in Parliament last year, the Indian government said that the total liabilities of Swiss banks towards Indians have been coming down since 2006 and fell by more than 14,000 crore during 2006-2010 period.

Amid allegations of Indians stashing huge amounts of illicit wealth abroad, including in Swiss banks, the government has said it is making various efforts to bring back the unaccounted money.

While a new treaty has been put in place for sharing of information on issues related to tax crimes on a prospective basis, Switzerland has also agreed to a limited retrospective clause for such information exchange in case of India.

As per SNB data, funds held by Indians directly in the Swiss banks declined sharply by about 700 million Swiss francs in 2012 to 1.34 billion Swiss francs (8,500 crore) in 2012.

On the other hand, the funds held through 'fiduciaries' nearly halved to 77.4 million Swiss francs (about 500 crore) in 2011 -- marking the sixth straight year of decline.

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