This refers to the report "Black money: Switzerland ups vigil as India threatens criminal action" (April 7). It is well known that tax havens are responsible for corruption in India and other less developed nations because they offer a safe haven for depositing this ill-gotten wealth. When the US threatened major Swiss banks, they not only disclosed the names of tax evaders but also willingly paid the fines. In the changed international outlook, Switzerland's strict banking secrecy has been under assault from fraternal countries such as Germany and Britain like never before. Deposits in Swiss banks have increased in recent years but mostly from the burgeoning economies of Asia even as Western European money has been withdrawn. With the recent high-decibel statements on secret Swiss and offshore accounts quite a few billion might have been moved to other accounts.
H N Ramakrishna Bengaluru
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