Indian deposits in Swiss banks fell by 34.5 per cent in 2017 and by 80 per cent since the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said today, citing data from the global body of central banks, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
He said this in Parliament rebutting last month's reports, which quoted the Swiss National Bank, the country's central bank, as saying in its annual report that Indian deposits had risen by 50 per cent in 2017.
He told Rajya Sabha during question hour that he discussed the issue with Swiss authorities, who told him in a written reply that media reports "have not taken account of the way the (SNB) figures have to be interpreted".
Last month, PTI had reported SNB data that the money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose to CHF 1.01 billion (Rs. 7,000 crore) in 2017 after falling for three consecutive years.
"The Swiss Authorities say that the figures published by the Swiss National Bank are regularly mentioned by the Indian media as a reliable indicator of the amount of assets held with Swiss financial institutions in respect of Indian citizens. They clarify how this is wrong. They say more often than not, the media reports have not taken into account the way the figures have to be interpreted which has resulted in misleading headlines and analysis. This is (the Swiss) government response," he said.
However, his reply did not satisfy Trinamool Congress members who stormed into the Well of the House demanding that black money stashed in Swiss banks be brought back, forcing Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to adjourn the proceedings for about 90 minutes.
Later, talking to reporters in Parliament House complex, Goyal attacked Congress president Rahul Gandhi for maligning the country's image by raising the issue of increase in black money deposits of Indians in Swiss banks based on baseless reports.
"I think Rahul Gandhi should reply to the nation why he is maligning the image of the country on the baseless report," he said. "Of course, he has a habit of saying things without knowing the facts. Even during the no-confidence motion, we have seen claims of Congress being demolished."
"Moreover, it is frequently assumed that any assets held by Indians are undeclared," he said. "So if you want to know the deposits of Indian residents in Switzerland, the correct data source is called locational banking statistics."
Stating that there was a "misconception" about deposits in Swiss banks, he said: "Swiss Authorities themselves gave this is writing that the Swiss National Bank in collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements data shows that loans and deposits of Indians other than banks like RBI, State Bank, the deposits of individuals in Switzerland decreased by 34.5 per cent in the last year compared to the previous year and reduced 44 per cent in the last quarter."
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