Not only India, EU also sees secret Swiss accounts as problem

NEW DELHI: The secret bank accounts of Switzerland are a problem not only for India but are an issue of dispute between it and other European countries.

This was made known by the European Union Ambassador to India Daniele Smadja here today when she said the issue is a "bone of contention" between the EU and Switzerland.

In an interaction with journalists, she said there are elements in the banking sector where there is no convergence between Switzerland and the EU.

"We have been discussing but we have not found a solution totally so far which could eliminate the banking secrecy," she said.

Along with Switzerland, she bracketed Iceland and Liecenstein as other dominions which have such secrecy clauses.

The secrecy maintained by Switzerland and the other two dominions is a matter of concern for India as several people are believed to have stashed thousands of crores of rupees in bank accounts there to evade taxes.

India has been trying to get to these people but has not been successful so far.

The matter has also assumed a political overtone with Opposition BJP demanding greater efforts to retrieve the money kept in these accounts.

The Supreme Court also recently questioned the government over the issue.