India’s Top Court Appoints Team to Monitor Illegal Funds Probe

India’s Supreme Court appointed a panel headed by a former judge to monitor a government investigation into illegal funds stored in foreign banks and steps being taken to return the money.

Judges also directed the government to disclose the names of those who have been issued notices for holding money overseas to evade tax in India.

India loses about $16 billion a year in tax revenue because of the use of foreign accounts by wealthy individuals and companies, the Washington-based Global Financial Integrity, a non-government organization campaigning for tighter controls on tax havens, estimated in a report last year.

“Illicit outflows” from India between 1948 and 2008 may be worth at least $462 billion at current prices, it said.

The government has said it is discussing steps including offering amnesty, strengthening laws and signing double-taxation avoidance agreements with governments to curb tax-evasion.

To contact the reporters on this story: Bibhudatta Pradhan in New Delhi at bpradhan@bloomberg.net; P.S. Patnaik in New Delhi at ppatnaik2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Hari Govind at hgovind@bloomberg.net