M A I N   N E W S

First black money list out, 25 named
No politician on list submitted by govt to SC, Centre says can’t reveal all details
R Sedhuraman
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, October 27
The Centre today made public a list of 25 persons who allegedly have black money stashed in foreign banks. Seven of them are businessmen and 18 are involved in trusts and foundations. There are no politicians on the list that is silent on the amount of black money held by those named, individually or cumulatively.

The government submitted the list to the Supreme Court as part of an affidavit, seeking modification of the court’s directive for providing to senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, the PIL petitioner on the black money issue, a copy of all foreign bank account documents on which investigations were over. While the information about the businessmen was received from French tax authorities, the details of those associated with trusts and foundations were obtained from Germany as part of a list of account holders in LGT Bank in Liechtenstein, a 160 sq km German-speaking micro-state in central Europe.

The Centre said it was in a position to hand over to Jethmalani only the details pertaining to these 25 persons against whom prosecution had been launched for possession of black money. The various treaties, including the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), under which these documents had been given had legal clauses that barred the government from disclosing the names of all persons who had legal bank accounts abroad.

Disclosing all details would deter Swiss and other banks, which had agreed to share details of accounts held by Indians, from doing so. “The choice, therefore, is either not to receive information at all, or receive it and use it as per international standards of confidentiality,” the government said in the affidavit filed ahead of tomorrow’s hearing in the PIL case.

The government was, however, committed to disclosing the names of all persons who would be prosecuted for recovery of tax dues on black money in future, the affidavit said. The businessmen named today are Pradip Burman, who had 0.02 per cent stake in Dabur India, bullion trader Pankaj Chimanlal Lodhya, and five directors of Goa-based mining company Timblo Pvt Ltd – Radha Satish Timblo, Chetan S Timblo, Rohan S Timblo, Anna C Timblo and Mallika R Timblo.

Five of those named are associated with the Ambrunova Trust and Marline Management SA. They are Mohan Manoj Dhupelia, Ambrish Manoj Dhupelia, Bhavya Manoj Dhupelia, Manoj Dhupelia and Rupal Dhupelia. Eight of those named are associated with Manichi and Ruvisha trusts.