Fight against black money: Switzerland gets 1,500 help requests a year

BERN/NEW DELHI: Gearing up for a new legal framework to help India and other countries in their fight against black money, Switzerland has said it gets 1,500 administrative assistance requests a year.

This makes Switzerland one of the world's most frequently contacted countries for administrative assistance, as per a statement from the Swiss Federal Council, the apex administrative body of the European nation.

In a statement, the Federal Council said it will propose to Parliament a clarification of the legal situation regarding administrative assistance based on stolen data.

The issue assumes significance for India, as it has been probing various cases of people having allegedly stashed illicit funds in Swiss banks.

However, the source of information in quite a few cases has been termed by Switzerland as 'stolen data' and its domestic law does not permit any cooperation in case information is sourced from 'stolen data'.

Indian authorities have managed conduct their own investigations in some cases before seeking details from Switzerland and the European nation has agreed to cooperate in those cases where India can provide independent evidence.

A meeting was held in Switzerland's capital Bern yesterday, where the Federal Council discussed the peer review of the country by the Global Forum, an international body that frames standards for transparency and exchange of information on tax matters to address risks posed by 'tax havens'.

In its report in March, the Global Forum had said that Switzerland's legal and regulatory framework in terms of administrative assistance allowed it to progress to phase two of the peer review.

In the yesterday's meeting, the Federal Council took stock of the challenges to be met by Switzerland in order to pass phase two of its peer review, which will get under way in the last quarter of 2015, and talked about what is at stake in this review.

The phase-two review will look at Switzerland's administrative assistance practices.

"It is a challenge for Switzerland, which receives an average of around 1,500 administrative assistance requests per year, making it one of the world's most frequently contacted countries for administrative assistance," it said.

"The treatment of requests based on stolen data is particularly challenging for Switzerland. The Federal Council will propose a clarification of the legal situation to Parliament," it added.

The Federal Council further said it "recognises how important it is for Switzerland to comply with the international standards, which ensure smooth economic relations with partner states and good framework conditions, which are necessary for investments."