Black money in Swiss banks down by 80 per cent under Modi govt: Piyush Goyal

The issue of black money in Swiss banks roiled Parliament today with Rajya Sabha being adjourned till 2 pm.

"After the NDA came to power in 2014, deposits in Swiss banks have been reduced by 80 per cent till the end of 2017," Union Minister of Finance Piyush Goyal told Lok Sabha today (July 24).

He said that their government had sought 4,000 pieces of information from Swiss banks and depending upon the data they receive the government will take action.

Earlier media reports quoting Swiss National Bank (SNB) had clarified that not all money in Swiss banks is black money.

Data from Bank of International Settlements (BIS) show non-bank loans and deposits have fallen by 34.5 per



cent in 2017 compared to 2016 ($524 mn in 2017 as against $800 mn in 2016)

According to SNB money in Swiss banks is not always black money but includes non-deposit liabilities, inter-bank transactions, business of Swiss banks in India and fiduciary liabilities among others.

In a letter written by the Swiss ambassador to India Andreas Baum to Piyush Goyal, the finance minister the right data to identify Indian deposits are published by BIS, which collects locational banking statistics (LBS) in collaboration with SNB.

LBS measures international banking activity from a residence perspective, focusing on the location of banking office and captures around 95 per cent of all cross-border banking activity.