India, Switzerland deny sharing 'black money' details

June 23, 2014

New Delhi/Zurich, June 23: Switzerland has not shared any information or given assurance on sharing details about Indian account holders in Swiss banks, where a major portion of India's "black money" is suspected to be stashed, governments of both countries said Monday.Swiss bank

"We have not received any official communication from Swiss authorities so far about sharing bank account details of Indians (who have) deposited unaccounted money there," India's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters outside his North Block office here.

The finance minister was reacting on a media report that said Swiss authorities have prepared a list of names of Indian account holders and will share it with the Indian government.

Jaitley said there is no official communication so far, and the Indian authorities will send a request to Swiss authorities for sharing the information.

"Our communication will be sent today itself," Jaitley said.

The Switzerland government also rubbished the report.

"Since a high-level Swiss delegation met with its India counterparts in New Delhi in February 2014, no further official meeting has taken place.

There is no new development to be reported," the Swiss finance ministry said in a statement.

However, it said Switzerland looks forward to working together with the new Indian government in its fight against tax evasion.

"Switzerland is committed to resolving any open question with India and trusts that India shares its understanding that any solution can only be found within the established national and international legal frameworks," the Swiss finance ministry said.

The new Indian government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the black money. The 11-member SIT is headed by former Supreme Court judge M.B. Shah.

Jaitley said the Indian government looks forwardto work closely with Swiss authorities on the issue of black money.

"We are today writing ourselves to the Swiss authorities with whom the ministry has been in touch, so that details with regard to whatever information the authorities have can be expedited and the cooperation between the Swiss authorities and the government of India can bring fruitful results," Jaitley said.

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News Network
June 1,2020

New Delhi, Jun 1: India's COVID-19 tally on Monday witnessed its highest-ever spike of 8,392 cases, while 230 more deaths related to the infection were also reported in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

The total number of coronavirus cases in the country now stands at 1,90,535 including 93,322 active cases, 91,819 cured/discharged/migrated and 5,394 deaths.

COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra continue to soar with the number reaching 67,655. Tamil Nadu's coronavirus count stands at 22,333 while cases in Delhi the number has reached 19,844

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Bloomberg
July 27,2020

New Delhi, Jul 27: India’s coronavirus epidemic is now growing at the fastest in the world, increasing 20% over the last week to more than 14 lakh confirmed cases, according to Bloomberg’s Coronavirus Tracker.

Infections in the South Asian nation of 130 crore people have reached 14.3 lakh, including 32,771 deaths, India’s health ministry said, with daily cases close to a record 50,000 on Monday. India is only trailing the US and Brazil now in the number of confirmed infections, but its growth in new cases is the fastest.

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are among the states where the maximum number of daily cares are being reported. The world’s second-most populous country has been ramping up testing, with 515,472 samples taken on Sunday, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research.

Still, India and Brazil have some of the world’s lowest testing rates, with 11.8 tests and 11.93 tests per 1,000 people respectively, compared to the US with 152.98 tests per 1,000 and Russia with 184.34, according to Our World in Data, a project based at the University of Oxford in the UK.

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News Network
May 11,2020

London, May 11: Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi's five-day extradition trial over the nearly USD2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case is set to begin in London's Westminster Magistrates' Court today.

The London High Court rejected Nirav Modi's bail plea in Punjab National Bank (PNB) bank fraud case for the fifth time in early March.

Modi, the prime accused in the PNB fraud case, is currently lodged at Wandsworth prison in south-west London and is wanted for his alleged role in the Rs 13,570 crore loss caused to the Punjab National Bank (PNB) along with his uncle, Mehul Choksi.

Modi, 48, was arrested in March last year by Scotland Yard in connection with the case.

Modi was remanded in custody till February 27, 2020, after he appeared before a UK court on Thursday via video link from his London prison.

The latest bail hearing followed further assurances by Modi, including an increase in the amount of security he had offered as a guarantee as well as stricter bail conditions.

On his last bail application, Modi offered USD 4 million as a security guarantee in return for bail, an offer that was rejected by judges who ruled that there was a real risk that Modi would flee the UK to a country which has no extradition treaty with India.

At the same hearing, the judge ruled that there was "strong evidence" that Modi had engaged in "witness intimidation" and destroying evidence.

Given the seriousness of such allegations, it was all but certain that the latest bail application would be rejected.

Modi's lawyers had contended that their client was being held in difficult conditions at Wandsworth prison and had also claimed that his mental health was deteriorating as a result of his incarceration.

However, ruling at the High Court today, Justice Ian Dove said there was a "clear need for this application to be refused in the present circumstances."

It comes just days after the second sale of assets belonging to Modi valued at millions of dollars.

The items include a luxury Rolls Royce car, a Patek Philippe watch and a painting by the renowned Indian artist Amrita Sher-Gil valued at USD 2.5 million but expected to fetch considerably more.

Meanwhile, Nirav's brother Neeshal Modi, who is also one of the co-conspirators in the PNB scam, has written to Enforcement Directorate, distancing himself from his brother's actions and said that he had no knowledge of it.

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