Swiss help sought to ferret out black money
Sri Lanka is planning to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Switzerland in a major step towards tackling black money stashed in Swiss banks by Sri Lankan nationals and used for criminal activity.
The proposed cooperation will include Swiss authorities providing information on Sri Lankans stashing illegal funds, official sources said.
This week, the Cabinet gave approval to an MoU between Switzerland and Sri Lanka on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. The object of this agreement is to facilitate the provision and obtaining, by Sri Lanka of assistance in criminal matters including financial crimes, a senior Justice Ministry official told Business Times. Preliminary discussions on the matter are believed to have been held with Swiss authorities.
The MoU will enable Sri Lanka to gain Swiss cooperation for the location and identification of witnesses or suspects, the service of documents, the examination of witnesses, obtaining evidence, documents or other articles, the execution of requests for search and seizure, the effecting of a temporary transfer of a person in custody to appear as a witness and the enforcement of orders for the payment of fines or for the forfeiture of freezing of property.
The Justice Ministry official said the government looks forward to cooperation with Switzerland on the issue of the exchange of tax information since black money is the main corruption issue which needs to be tackled.
A massive global pressure has resulted in Switzerland taking a softer line on their secrecy clauses enjoyed by the banks. Several information requests made by Sri Lanka on details about its countrymen who had accounts in Swiss banks are still unheeded.
This MoU, however, does not indicate anything on exchange of information based on pending requests from Sri Lanka, he said.
The MoU also covers cooperation in transfer of sentenced persons and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters that would help in combating terrorism, transnational organised crimes and corruption including money laundering and confiscation of black money, he disclosed.
Ninety-two Sri Lankan citizens hold a total of US$58.3 million in 129 Swiss bank accounts, according to data released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and leaked by an HSBC whistleblower two years ago.
The Government is also still trying to find money deposited in overseas banks by persons with high political connections and members of the Rajapaksa family during previous Rajapaksa regime.
In a media statement issued on November 13, 2015 , the then Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said accountholders at Swiss banks are invited to deposit their money through the banking system in Sri Lanka, promising a return of 2- 3 per cent interest. The minister was quoted as saying that no questions will be asked from those who bring deposits into the country and further steps would be taken to ensure those deposits are legally safe in future.