India hopes G20 will take strong action against black money

Cannes: India on Thursday said it hopes the G20 nations will pay heed to its call for strong action on the issue of black money, stashed in tax havens, during the summit. The issue has been on the agenda of G20 for the last two years and India expects strong statements from the group on it during the ongoing summit being attended by world leaders like US President Barack Obama, Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, told reporters. Indian tax enforcement agencies are probing details of black money stashed abroad by several Indians, including politicians and businessmen, on the basis of information received about secret accounts with a multi-national bank in Geneva. [caption id=“attachment_122493” align=“alignleft” width=“350” caption=“Anti G20 demonstrators wear masks portraying leaders attending the summit in Cannes. Reuters”] [/caption] The probe includes searches on some of the individuals figuring in the secret accounts said to be running into some hundreds and involving money to the tune of around Rs 3,000 crore, according to official sources in Delhi. They said the accounts were mainly traced to HSBC bank in Geneva but declined to disclose whether information about them was passed on to India by France. PTI