No significant possibility of rise in deposits in swiss banks by Indians: govt

The central ministry was reacting to reports that funds of Indians in Swiss Banks have risen to over ₹20,700 crore at the end of 2020, a jump of over 212% from ₹6,625 crore at the end of 2019

There is no “significant possibility” of an increase in undeclared incomes of Indian residents in Swiss banks, and added the government has requested Swiss authorities to provide relevant facts along with their view on this matter, the Union finance ministry said on Saturday.

The ministry said that contrary to reports, the customer deposits have fallen from the end of 2019

The central ministry was reacting to reports that funds of Indians in Swiss Banks have risen to over ₹20,700 crore at the end of 2020, a jump of over 212% from ₹6,625 crore at the end of 2019, reversing a two-year declining trend. It was also stated that this was also the highest figure of deposits in the last 13 years.

“Media reports allude to the fact that the figures reported are official figures reported by banks to Swiss National Bank (SNB) and do not indicate the quantum of much debated alleged black money held by Indians in Switzerland. Further, these statistics do not include the money that Indians, NRIs [non-resident Indians] or others might have in Swiss banks in the names of third–country entities,” a finance ministry statement said.