Black money: WikiLeaks may reveal Indian names

In a shocking revelation, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said black money mainly comes from India.

In an interview to Times Now, Assange said the names of the Swiss bank account holders will be revealed.

He said Wikileaks will coordinate with specialised agencies before publishing the Swiss bank data.

Assange pulled up the Indian government for not acting tough on tax evaders.

He told Times Now that India should be more aggressive as the country is losing per capita much more tax money than Germany.

Meanwhile, the central government announced it had set up a multi-disciplinary committee with top officers to probe the issue of black money parked in foreign tax havens.

The government had earlier declined to make public names of the people who have stashed black money in foreign banks, saying it is not possible to disclose information received from foreign governments under Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement.

The Centre, however, agreed to reveal the names of six persons who had deposited money with the Liechtenstein Bank in Germany and who are being prosecuted by the government authorities.

The Finance Ministry says it has 'no authentic figures' about the quantum of money deposited in Swiss banks.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had questioned the government's lackadaisical approach to the whole issue of black money.

The apex court had said the investigation into the issue of black money required "complete" and "full-fledged" involvement of government as the most important question was about the disclosure of source of money stashed in foreign banks which may be terror money or money coming from drug peddling.

Senior Lawyer Ram Jethmalani has pointed out that this is not a simple tax evasion covered by the treaties, but fruits of international criminal activities.

He said the government was reluctant to disclose the names of the persons with money tunnelled outside the country because they belong to rulers of the country.