Black money: Govt to disclose 60 names

The government is expected to disclose the names of close to 60 Indians and entities as it has recently initiated tax evasion prosecution proceedings against them as part of its crackdown on black money accounts as reported in the HSBC bank's Geneva branch list.

Sources said that those against whom legal action has been initiated include some corporate, business houses and other individuals as the Income Tax department has completed its probe and filed prosecution complaints against these entities, on the directions of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to tackle black money and illegal assets held by Indians abroad.

They said the total amount in these accounts is estimated to be to the tune of Rs 1,500-1,600 crore (Rs 15-16 billion).

Sources said the complaints, under I-T laws, have been filed in various courts of the country and investigations in these cases have been completed by the taxman as these cases will get "time barred" by March 31 after which any legal action against them could not be carried out as the cases pertain to the period of 2008-2009.

"The disclosures of these names is part of the government's commitment to curb cases of black money and of illegal funds stashed abroad by Indians. The I-T department aims to get conviction in these cases very fast," they said.

The SIT, headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Justice M B Shah, had said in its last report to the government and the Supreme Court in December 2014 that the black money holders’ names in HSBC Geneva list will be taken to their logical conclusion soon.