India’s Supreme Court took over the investigation of vast amounts black money stashed in foreign money accounts from the compromised government.The ruling Congress party has proven to be remarkably reluctant to take action against corruption and black money despite huge pressure from the civil society and the judiciary.The government itself has ministers who are highly corrupt with a telecom minister in jail and the textile minister who may be on the way as well.Other ministers like the Agricultural Minister Pawar has repeatedly surfaced in numerous scams rocking the country.The Supreme Court has also taken the government to task for granting a retail banking license to the Swiss giant bank UBS.Note UBS had not been given a license as it was under suspicion for facilitating the movement of ill gotten money into Swiss bank accounts.

Note Switzerland is notorious for helping corrupt people hide their money anonymously.This has made Switzerland a banking haven for a long time and helped the growth of two global Swiss banking giants Credit Suisse and UBS.I had earlier written that Switzerland should be treated as a rogue nation like North Korea

Switzerland is known for its excellent banks which provide a high degree of  safety and secrecy.But the less publicized fact is why this small mountainous country attracts trillions of dollars in wealth from around the world.Its because of its secrecy laws which don’t allow the name of the bank account holder to be revealed unless its proven that it is due to criminal misconduct.This Law has made Switzerland the safe haven for all kinds of criminal wealth including drugs,guns,prostitution,genocide etc.The recent spat between USA and Switzerland over the revealing of US tax evaders brought this anomaly into the open.Switzerland is the only large country to have such a law which promotes crime and tax evasion globally.

Now UBS has come under fire  in the US for letting US citizens evade tax and even resulted in the prosecution of UBS bank officials.The Swiss government under massive pressure has had to soften its laws to allow information of tax evaders go to the governments.To give a license to a Bank which is not notorious in global banking circles for helping people evade tax does not make much sense.But the Indian government too seems in the pocket of the banking lobby as it recently allowed proprietary trading by foreign investment  banks against the advice of the RBI.

Apex court poser to UPA govt on allowing Swiss Bank retail in India

The Supreme Court on Monday questioned the UPA government’s wisdom in permitting Swiss bank UBS, allegedly the favoured destination of Indians to stash black money, to start retail banking in the country.

The Centre’s response that it would help bring in foreign investment was sarcastically dismissed by a bench comprising Justices B Sudershan Reddy and S S Nijjar.”The question that arises is whether the task of bringing foreign funds into India override all other constitutional concerns and obligations,” it said.