Indian money in HSBC, Switzerland
(→Swiss HSBC’s Top 100 Indian account holders) |
(→See also) |
||
Line 711: | Line 711: | ||
=See also= | =See also= | ||
− | [[Indian money in | + | [[Indian money in foreign banks]] <> |
[[Indian money in HSBC, Switzerland]]<> | [[Indian money in HSBC, Switzerland]]<> | ||
[[Indian money in Liechtenstein banks]] <> | [[Indian money in Liechtenstein banks]] <> | ||
[[Sri Lankan money in Swiss banks]]<> | [[Sri Lankan money in Swiss banks]]<> | ||
[[Rich List: India]] <> | [[Rich List: India]] <> |
Revision as of 10:19, 19 June 2017
This page is a summary of a three-month-long global project (2014-15) |
Contents |
The List: Who’s Who & How Much
Ritu Sarin |Indian Express New Delhi | February 9, 2015
Additional Reporting:
Appu Esthose Suresh, Sandeep Singh, Dipankar Ghose, Aniruddha Ghosal and Shalini Narayan, New Delhi; Johnson TA, Bangalore; Rohit Alok and Srinath Rao, Mumbai; Chandan Haygunde, Manoj More, Parthasarthi Biswas and Atikh Rashid, Pune; Mir Ehsan, Srinagar; Arshad Ali, Kolkata; Aditi Raja, Vadodara; Anju Agnihotri Chaba, Jalandhar; Raakhi Jagga, Ludhiana; Vivek Deshpande, Nagpur; Sreenivas Janyala , Hyderabad; Ashwani Sharma, Shimla; Sweta Dutta, Jaipur.
For a detailed account please follow this link to the Indian Express| website.
The information had been given by HSBC itself following negotiations between the bank and Indian Income-Tax authorities.
The names [of Indians with accounts in HSBC Switzerland] include those of businessmen, politicians and their families.
A
Anil Ambani and Mukesh Ambani.
Anil Ambani
Balance: $26.6 mn (Rs 164.92 crore)
Had identical [to his brother Mukesh's] balance of $26.6 million as Mukesh in HSBC, same holding companies.
Anil Ambani issued a statement which “clarified” he had no bank account with HSBC Geneva. Bank scripts attached to the account opening statement showed HSBC personally contacted “client’’ for opening the account in January 2005, and funds were agreed to be deposited in the bank two days later. Mother Kokila Dhirubhai Ambani too has an account in the bank but data provides no details.
Anil Ambani’s office responded, “Mr Ambani does not have any HSBC overseas account.”
Mukesh Ambani
Balance: $26.6 mn (Rs 164.92 crore)
He opened two HSBC accounts in 2001. Average joint balance of $26.6 million in 2006/2007. Data shows account registered under Flag Telecom Group Ltd and Canbar Holding Corporation. There is also an account of Reliance Industries Limited, opened in 2007, with a balance of $ 103.8 million (Rs 638.6 crore).
RIL spokesperson stated, “Neither RIL nor Mr Mukesh Ambani have or had any illegitimate bank accounts anywhere in the world.”
B
ALOK BHARTIA
BALANCE: $1.35 million (Rs 8.37 crore)
Taegu Tec India: Wife Alpana and he are co-holders of an HSBC account they opened in 2006. The data shows a 2006-07 balance of $1.3 million.
YASHOVARDHAN BIRLA
BALANCE: Not mentioned
Yash Birla Group. HSBC data provides sketchy details and makes no mention of the money in his account.
A company chartered accountant said, “We have no assets which are undisclosed under our name except what is required as per Indian laws. We have always complied with the legal system.”
BURMAN FAMILY
BALANCE: $ 12.5 mn (Rs 77.5 crore)
Data shows the Dabur family had several accounts with HSBC in 2006-07. Chairman Dr Anand Chand Burman and wife Minnie Burman had $803,683. Director Sidharth Burman had seven accounts, with son Saket a joint holder in one account. Sidharth’s brother Pradip Burman had eight accounts, $6.02 million. Records show a Shanti Niketan, New Delhi address.
Anand Chand Burman said, “I have been an NRI since 1999 and pay taxes in the UK. This money was sent out under the remittance scheme and everything has since been explained.”
C
RITU (MAHIMA) CHAUDHRY
BALANCE: Not mentioned
Described as a top model and actress in HSBC records. Balance details of her account are not available.
She said she did not know what this matter was about and had no comments to make.
MANU CHHABRIA FAMILY
Balance: $141 mn (Rs 874 crore*)
Mostly based in Dubai. Several family members opened accounts with HSBC Geneva in 2006. They include Manu Chhabria’s wife Vidya Manohar. HSBC records show that in 2006-07, Vidya Chhabria had a maximum balance of $39.25 million; daughter Komal Wazir Chhabria had four accounts totalling $61.6 million with her husband, Rajiv Wazir, a co-account holder in two accounts. Another daughter Kiran Manohar Chhabria had a maximum of $40.15 million.
D
ANURAGH DALMIA
BALANCE: $9.6 mn (Rs 59.5 crore)
HSBC data shows that Anuragh had four accounts with the bank, opened in 2000, with a combined maximum of $9.6 million in 2006-07. Wife Jayanti is listed as a joint account-holder in one of the accounts and their address in New Delhi’s Tees January Marg is also listed. There are detailed notes from the bankers on investments Anuragh wanted to make during meetings in 2005.
DALMIA FAMILY
BALANCE: $74,038 (Rs 45.9 lakh)
Dalmia Cement. Jai Hari and Gautam Dalmia had $35,969 as maximum balance each for 2006-07. Yadu Hari Dalmia and Puneet Dalmia had $38,069 each in their accounts.
Puneet Dalmia said: “The accounts were in compliance with RBI regulations and the amount in them was remitted through authorised dealers. The Income Tax authorities did … were satisfied with the answers given.”
KULDIP SINGH DHINGRA, GURBACHAN SINGH DHINGRA
BALANCE: $4.14 million (Rs 25.6 crore)
Kuldip Singh Dhingra, and brother Gurbachan Singh Dhingra (Berger Paints) opened four accounts with identical balance in 2005. The name of their company UK Paints (Overseas) is also listed. In 2006-07, they had a combined balance of $4.14 million with detailed notes from bankers on future inflow of funds.
Kuldip Singh Dhingra said the accounts had been declared to RBI and Ministry of Commerce but they still had to face an income tax search. “We have filed a writ in the high court objecting to the manner in which we were treated. The Income Tax should not mix up illegitimate account- holders with genuine ones who have already disclosed everything.”
G
BISHWANATH GARODIA
BALANCE: $1.07 million (Rs 6.6 crore)
Mangal Steel Limited. He and wife Usha are joint account-holders in HSBC. They opened an account in 1999. The couple had a 2006-07 balance of $1.07 million. Their residence address in Kolkata is listed for correspondence with the bank.
Naresh Kumar Goyal
BALANCE: $18.7mn (Rs 116 crore)
Jet Airways. Naresh Goyal opened three accounts in HSBC in 2003 and had a 2006-07 balance of $18.7 million. Detailed internal notes are attached, listing the number of “relationships” the bank has had with Goyal, including the opening of a new account for Tailwinds Ltd. At meetings with bankers in Geneva in September 2005, Goyal discussed the fallout of rulings he got from the cantonal tax department in Switzerland. He wanted all guarantees taken over by HSBC, and other large sums transferred to the bank.
A spokesperson said, “Mr Naresh Goyal is an NRI. He can have legitimate bank accounts anywhere in the world. Furthermore, he is fully compliant with all his obligations to the tax jurisdictions in India and other countries.”
SHRAVAN GUPTA, SHILPI GUPTA
BALANCE: $33.8mn (Rs 209.56 crore)
Emaar MGF: Shravan Gupta and wife Shilpi Gupta have three accounts with HSBC Geneva. They have declared the accounts and paid taxes. Shravan Gupta had a balance of $32.3 million in 2006-07, and wife Shilpi, a joint account holder, $1.5 million. The couple’s Golf Links residence in New Delhi is listed in the HSBC account opening data.
J
LADLI PERSHAD JAISWAL
BALANCE: $3.49 million (Rs 21.6 crore)
Jagatjit Industries Limited (JIL). Ladli Pershad acquired British citizenship and died in 2005. In the HSBC data, he is shown as an Indian citizen, with a New Delhi address (the house is currently under reconstruction). In 2006-07, his account had a balance of $3.49 million.
K
SURINDER KAPUR
BALANCE: $406.088 (Rs 2.51 crore)
Sona Koyo, a forging enterprise. HSBC data shows Surinder Kapur opened five accounts with the bank in 1999. He wanted to reshuffle his earlier accounts held in the name of foundations and open a personal account. The maximum balance, collectively shown for the accounts in 2006-07, is $406,088.
PRENEET KAUR
BALANCE: Not mentioned
Minister in the former UPA government and wife of former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh. The only detail mentioned is her date of birth, which matches that in official records. In October 2014, she said the Income Tax Department had contacted her in 2011. ”In keeping with my reply to the I-T Department, I would like to state that I never had, and do not have any bank account(s) overseas in my name with any foreign bank.” No HSBC account is listed in her asset declaration form to the Election Commission.
PRADIP KUMAR KHAITAN, HAIGREVE KHAITAN
BALANCE: Not mentioned
Corporate law firm, Kolkata etc. Pradip Kumar Khaitan and son Haigreve and their spouses Prabha and Tarulika are listed. No balance is shown for the accounts opened in 2004.
Pradeep Khaitan said, “The Income Tax department has given us a clean chit since everything was documented and money sent to the HSBC account under the official remittance scheme. The account is in my name as well as other members of the family
BHADRA SHYAM KOTHARI FAMILY
BALANCE: $31.55 mn (Rs 195.6 crore)
Kothari Group, Chennai. Nina Bhadrashyam Kothari is the daughter of the late Dhirubhai Ambani. Her daughter Nayantara and son Arjun are listed as account-holders but there are no details. The balance in the account of Nina Bhadrashyam Kothari is shown as $31.55 million. All accounts were opened in 2002 and the family’s Chennai home is listed as the correspondence address.
ASHVIN PRAKASH KUMAR
BALANCE: $4,849 (Rs 3 lakh)
The youngest Indian director to be nominated for an Oscar award (2005). His account showed a 2006-07 balance of $4,849.
Ashvin Prakash said, “This was during my tenure as nri and has been declared to authorities and therefore I do not want to comment further.”
L
SANJIV LAMBA
BALANCE: $644,923 (Rs 4 crore)
Diplomat Hotel, Delhi. Sanjiv and wife Madhulika had an identical 2006-07 balance of $644,923 each. The accounts were opened in 2000. In meetings later with HSBC bankers in New Delhi, Sanjiv discussed further investments “with an Indian flavor.”
Sanijv Lamba’s chartered accountant said, “My client was one of the first to admit to the Income Tax that he had an account and showed them all banking transactions. Subsequently, he approached the Settlement Commission where his petition was admitted and taxes due were paid up.”
OM PRAKASH LOHIA
BALANCE: Not mentioned
Indo Rama Group. No details of his account balance are mentioned. Wife Urmila Lohia and son Vishal Lohia are also holders of accounts in HSBC Geneva.
Om Prakash Lohia said, “The account was opened by my father M L Lohia who is an NRI and he named us beneficiaries. Besides, there have been no transactions on the account which has been lying dormant. This was explained to the tax department.”
M
CHARU BHARTIA MODI
BALANCE: Not mentioned
Entrepreneur. There are no details of the balance in her account opened with the HSBC in 2006.
N
RAJAN PARSHAD NANDA
BALANCE:Not mentioned
Escorts Ltd. HSBC data shows Rajan Nanda opened an account in 2002 under Centerville Consultancy Limited. There are no details of the money in the account.
Rajan Nanda said, “The tax department … were satisfied with my replies that the monies were sent annually through the official route permitted by the RBI.”
ADM S M NANDA, SURESH NANDA
BALANCE: $2.3 million (Rs 14.2 crore)
Navy chief during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, Admiral S M Nanda’s retirement years were mired in controversy due to the alleged involvement of his son Suresh in defence scandals and grandson Sanjeev in the BMW hit-and-run case. Nanda set up the Crown Corporation for arms contracts and died in 2009 at the age of 93. Data shows accounts in the names of the late Admiral, and sons Suresh and Paul. One company account shows all three as beneficial owners with a 2006-07 balance of $1.34 million; there is another joint account with Suresh: $478,864. Suresh has three other accounts with $478,532.
Suresh Nanda said, “I have been an NRI since 1987 and declare this to the Income Tax every year. As far as Paul Nanda and Sanjeev Nanda are concerned, they have paid tax before the Settlement Commission where their petitions were admitted.”
HARSHAVARDHAN NEOTIA, VINOD KUMAR NEOTIA
BALANCE: $503,000 (Rs 3.1 crore)
Ambuja Neotia Group. Neotia family has three accounts in HSBC Geneva. One of the accounts is in the name of his late father, Vinod Kumar Neotia. In 2006-07, it had a maximum balance of $503,000.
P
BRIJENDRA KUMAR PODDAR
BALANCE: $953,187 (Rs 5.9 crore)
West Bengal. His HSBC account, opened in 2005, shows a balance of $953,187. His son, Yash Wardhan Poddar, who is the Honorary Consul of Romania in Kolkata, is listed as a co-account holder.
R
K RAHEJA CORPORATION FAMILY
BALANCE: Not mentioned
Real estate and hospitality. Lachmandas Raheja, his wife Jyoti and two sons, Ravi Raheja and Neel Raheja, are all holders of individual accounts with HSBC Geneva though no account opening details are given. In 2013, Chandru Raheja and his sons were chargesheeted by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with development of land for the Hypercity project in Mumbai.
A spokesperson for the Raheja Group said, “All the money in the offshore accounts has been deposited under the Liberalized Remittance Scheme. We were contacted by tax authorities two years ago and all information given. No taxes needed to be paid.”
KUMAR VENU RAMAN
BALANCE: $3.06 million (Rs 18.97 crore)
An Indian Revenue Service officer who took premature retirement to join the Essar Group, Kumar Venu Raman became an angel investor. In 2006-07, his HSBC Geneva account had $3.06 million.
Kumar Venu Raman said, “I have been an NRI for almost two decades and all responses and clarifications have been given by my representatives to the tax authorities.’’
NEELAM NARAYAN RANE, NILESH RANE
BALANCE: NOT MENTIONED
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane’s wife Neelam and elder son Nilesh are HSBC account holders. Neelam runs a hotel chain while Nilesh is his father’s political heir. The only details available for Neelam Rane and Nilesh Rane are their dates of birth and their Bandra address, all verified.
Nilesh Rane said he had no knowledge of the accounts. “I have nothing to do with this. I am not aware of any such accounts.”
S
DATTARAJ VASSUDEV SALGAOCAR, DIPTI SALGAOCAR
BALANCE: $5.17 million (Rs 32 crore)
All four members of the Salgaocar family have accounts in HSBC. While there is no account balance shown for Dattaraj Salgaocar, his wife had a 2006-07 maximum balance of $5.17 million. There are separate accounts of their children, Vikram and Isheta, but balance amounts are not mentioned.
SUBHASH VASANT SATHE, INDRANI SATHE
BALANCE: $749,370 (Rs 4.64 crore)
Son and daughter-in-law of former Union minister Vasant Sathe who died in 2011. Manufacturers of automotive parts and plastic components. Their joint account with a 2006-07 balance of $749,370 was opened in 2002. Subhash Sathe listed a Gautam Nagar, New Delhi address. Indrani listed an address in Saket, New Delhi, in account-opening documents.
Subhash Sathe said he had no details of the account. “You must be aware of details but I am not.”
BHUSHAN LAL SAWHNEY AND FAMILY
BALANCE: $2.69 million (Rs 16.7 crore) (combined)
Sawhney Tyres: Has one of the oldest listed accounts in the HSBC India list. His account was opened in 1970 and its maximum balance in 2006-07 was $2.04 million (Rs 12.64 crore). His wife, Sneh Lata Sawhney, is a joint holder of the account. Son Praveen Sawhney has a separate account. His statement to the Income Tax was one of those released by India Against Corruption. Praveen had a 2006-07 balance of $ 657,161 (Rs 4.07 crore). The correspondence of the bankers attached with the data shows frequent requests from Bhushan Lal Sawhney and Praveen Sawhney for money transfer to other bank accounts, including those in Zurich.
MOHAMMAD HASSEEB SHAW
BALANCE: $2.13 million (Rs 13.2 crore)
Exporter of Kashmiri carpets and pashmina shawls. HSBC data shows he opened his account in 1997. His father, Shaw Abdul Rashid, is a joint account-holder and they had a $2.13-million maximum balance in 2006-07. Several meetings between HSBC bankers and the two account-holders are listed — they asked for a second safe deposit box abroad and are noted as emptying out one which was stuffed with pashmina shawls.
JAGDISH RAI SOOD
BALANCE: Not mentioned
Eros Group. No account balance is mentioned in the HSBC data.
Sood said, “The Income Tax department has gone through everything and done whatever was needed. They contacted me also but found that there was no money in the account.”
T
ANNU TANDON
BALANCE: $5.72 million (Rs 35.8 crore)
Former Congress MP from Unnao; was married to Sandeep Tandon, a former Indian Revenue Service officer who worked with Reliance Industries for several years before he died. The account opening statement in her name reveals she had two accounts (opened in 2005) with a joint balance of $5.72 million. Her Mumbai address is given in the records. The HSBC account is not one of the accounts declared by her in her asset declaration to the Election Commission.
Annu Tandon denied having any such account. “My husband is no more and if he opened some accounts, how would I know?”
SANDEEP TANDON
BALANCE: $26.8 mn (Rs 166.1 crore)
Sandeep Tandon was an officer of the Indian Revenue Service who took voluntary retirement and joined Reliance Industries to head their taxation and liaison units. He became a powerful aide to Mukesh Ambani after the group split though he had investigated alleged money laundering charges. He died in 2010. Records show he had three accounts in HSBC with Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani shown as trustees in the list. The balance in the three accounts totalled $26.8 million.
DHARAM VIR TANEJA
BALANCE: $1.75 million (Rs 10.8 crore)
Retired banker Taneja (ex Chairman and Managing Director of the Central Bank of India) His 2006-07 balance in HSBC records is $1.75 million (Rs 10. 8 crore) and data shows that the account was opened in 2001 in Dubai. His Defence Colony address in New Delhi, where he lives, is listed.
A family member of Dharam Vir Taneja clarified, “The overseas bank account was disclosed to the RBI from its inception and monies lawfully repatriated to India in 2008 when account was closed. This is a case of fully disclosed income.”
SMITA JAYDEV THACKERAY
BALANCE: $103.236 (Rs 64 lakh)
Film producer and daughter-in-law of the late Bal Thackeray of Shiv Sena. Smita opened an account with HSBC Geneva from Mumbai in 2002. Records show a maximum balance of $103,236 in 2006-07 in her account.
MAHESH TIKAMDAS THARANI
Balance: $40.61 mn (Rs 251.7 crore)
He had a 2006-07 balance of $40.61 million. In 2001, he opened two accounts from Jakarta. A Bangalore address is mentioned in the data but a check showed the house on Berlie Street was sold by Tharani a decade ago. When the account was opened, he showed Indian nationality.
V
JITENDRA VIRWANI
BALANCE: $14,517 (Rs 9 lakh)
Bangalore-based Embassy Group He and wife Vandana opened a joint account with HSBC in 2001. The data shows a 2006-07 balance of $14,517. The couple’s Bangalore address is listed in the HSBC data.
Jitendra Virwani said, “All my international accounts have been declared and before the Income Tax Department, I denied having such an account. But they showed me some papers and calculated that I have to pay up approximately Rs 3.8 lakh. I have paid up but done so under protest so that I do not have to face the harassment of prosecution.”
W
MICHAEL ARAM WOLOHOJIAN
BALANCE: $107,837 (Rs 66.8 lakh)
Metal designer. He has a base in New Delhi and records show three different addresses in New Delhi’s Green Park, Sujan Singh Park and Greater Kailash areas. HSBC data shows that he opened three accounts with the bank in 1997. Two of them had zero balance while a third had $107,837 in 2006-07.
The Indian Express' exclusive report
(Below is a summary. The full report can be read at Indian Express
Exclusive: HSBC Indian list just doubled to 1195 names. Balance: Rs 25420 cr
Ritu Sarin | Indian Express February 9, 2015
To obtain and investigate the Indian names, The Indian Express partnered in a three-month-long global project with the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and the Paris-based Le Monde newspaper.
The investigation revealed 1,195 Indian HSBC clients, roughly double the 628 names that French authorities gave to the Government in 2011. The new revelation— published today as part of a global agreement — is expected to significantly widen the scale and scope of the ongoing probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Supreme Court.
Prominent people on the HSBC list include:
Businessmen (See the list on this page.)
Diamond Traders
Top diamond traders of the country, several of whom are now settled abroad, figure on the list, with mostly Mumbai addresses given. Among them, Rusell Mehta, Anoop Mehta, Saunak Parikh, Chetan Mehta, Govindbhai Kakadia and Kunal Shah.
Politicians (See the list on this page.)
NRIs/PIOs
Several prominent names include Swraj Paul, members of Manu Chhabria’s family, Rajendra Ruia/Vimal Ruia and Naresh Kumar Goyal.
HSBC, headquartered in London, when informed about the global investigation, first insisted that the ICIJ destroy its data. Told about the full extent of the reporting team’s findings (106,458 “clients” and data on major politicians, diamond traders, arms dealers and members of drug cartels), HSBC said: “We acknowledge that the compliance culture and standards of due diligence in HSBC’s Swiss private bank, as well as the industry in general, were significantly lower than they are today.”
Fascinating details
The hunt for HSBC clients took The Indian Express from Delhi and Mumbai to smaller cities such as Phagwara, Kottayam, Srinagar, Ludhiana and Shimla.
Fascinating details are revealed in the list that includes hundreds of NRIs — for instance, 84-year-old stenographer Annie Meneaud, born in Kannur, Kerala, whose account was opened in Dubai and had a balance of $100,020.
Then there are some mysterious HSBC account-opening statements, such as one named “H.G.P” for a Kolkata-born UK citizen who has given a Carlton House Terrace address and, as the statement shows, instructed that all transactions be kept in the bank’s safe deposit box. This 74-year old client’s balance: $133.52 million.
A scrutiny shows there are 276 account holders with at least $1 million in their balance of whom 85 are residing in the country.
Topping the list of account-holders with an India connection is prominent London-based PIO Swraj Paul with a balance of $386 million. The lowest balance is for Gujarat-born UK citizen Naman Sarwar Malik, who has $669 in his account.
The Indian Express was the first to report, on August 7, 2011, that French authorities had handed over details of around 700 HSBC account holders and, as was the case in several countries, a frantic tax chase began.
Govt’s action so far
Top officials of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said that undisclosed income to the tune of Rs 3,150 crore ($508 million) has been brought to tax from among HSBC account-holders but pointed out that there were some significant gaps in the data — some 200 accounts with the Government had no balance and 211 of them were of NRIs.
Such updated data is being regularly provided by the CBDT and the SIT to the Supreme Court, and officials said that tax collections, penalties and prosecutions are being chased on war footing.
A confidential note dated October 27, 2014, shows that following a video conference on the subject of HSBC collections, the prosecution of HSBC officials was being contemplated.
The note reads, “It has been explained that involvement of HSBC/its officials in opening and operation of the accounts also needs to be identified and reported to the Board… such facts would be extremely important while considering prosecution of HSBC/ its officials as abettors to Indian assesses.”
Several HSBC account-holders contacted by The Indian Express said that they objected to what some described as the “high-handedness’’ of the Income Tax Department. [The reactions of account-holders like Mr Kuldip Singh Dhingra and Mr Jitendra Virwani have been mentioned against their names elsewhere on this page.]
There are many account holders, led by Delh-based industrialist Sanjiv Lamba, who approached the Settlement Commission and obtained immunity from prosecution. Suresh Nanda, himself an NRI, said his brother Paul Nanda and his son Sanjeev Nanda had also approached the Settlement Commission and paid up taxes there.
Until Januar 2015, CBDT officials said, 27 HSBC account-holders had paid up penalties and 15 were facing prosecution proceedings for concealment of income in the accounts. The SIT has reportedly been informed that the target number for HSBC account-holders to be prosecuted is 300. But that was based on the list of over 600. Now that the list has doubled, sources said, the scope of the investigation just widened.
Diamonds are for Swiss banks
77 diamond traders have HSBC accounts
(Below is a summary. The full report can be read in The Indian Express. A graphic from the article has been archived on this page.
Why diamonds are the HSBC list’s best friend
Appu Esthose Suresh | The Indian Express |February 10, 2015
In the HSBC list, 77 account-holders are connected to the diamond industry. 64 of them are beneficial owners from 12 families and only 13 are individual account holders. The deposits of the 77 total an estimated $203 million. All have bases in the Belgian city of Antwerp.
India is the global manufacturing hub, where much of the cutting and polishing is done.
Appu Esthose Suresh travelled to Mumbai to find out how a closely knit, mostly familial network controls the industry.
Kinship, trade fuel trade through diamond pipeline
In October 2013, the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force handed in a report revealing what lies at the heart of the diamond trade:
“According to industry sources, it is difficult for a new and unknown individual to get involved in the trade of diamonds without being referred or introduced by an already established dealer,” the task force summed up.
The Indian Express visited Bharat Diamond Bourse on Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex, the biggest diamond trading centre in India. Here, deals are struck not over stamp papers, but via firm handshakes. Such is the trust, such are the ties that diamonds worth millions are given on credit for sale without any formal agreement.
Industry sources in Mumbai said that the first generation of 11 of the 12 families who hold HSBC accounts came from Palanpur and migrated to Antwerp.
In India, where there is no tax on import of rough diamonds, the precious stones are vulnerable to misuse – these are often used for illegal money transfer, money laundering and exploitation of credit facilities.
The Income Tax (I-T), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have named diamond traders in at least 65 cases. It is alleged that they are key players in trade-based money laundering of an estimated Rs 60,000 crore.
A February 2014 internal I-T paper on the diamond traders of Surat and Mumbai outlines how traders facilitate bogus entries through which black money is converted to legitimate money for other sectors such as real estate.
A forensic report dated October 28, 2013, submitted by a consortium of banks to the Reserve Bank of India in connection with the credit facility used by a diamond trading company, underlines: “It is very common for one family to have multiple companies under multiple names across geographies that receive exports from India so that companies can avail import duty allowances and letters of credit from banks.”
DRI investigations in the last two years have listed 41 instances of the involvement of Hong Kong-based diamond traders in high-value money transfer.
A report by the GJEPC to the Commerce Secretary in October 28, 2014, stated: “Huge discrepancies were observed in the trade data which indicated that there has been import of rough diamonds from Hong Kong at a very high value per carat, and exporting almost same volumes of carats at a very nominal price, resulting in loss of foreign exchange to the nation. A similar analysis done for other trading centers such as Belgium and Israel etc does not indicate such alarming variations…”
From the list, who and how much:
K
KAKADIAS of SHEETAL GROUP
BALANCE: $9,100
The Kakadia family of Surat-based Sheetal Group had $9,100 (Rs 5.64 lakh) in HSBC in 2006-07.
M
MEHTAS of GEMBEL GROUP and LILAVATI HOSPITAL
BALANCE: $6.80 m
Chetan Mehta, father Prabodh Kirtilal Mehta, Bhavin Mehta, father Rashmi Kirtilal Mehta, hold $6.8 million (Rs 42.16 crore) in HSBC as beneficial holders of four companies registered in Switzerland. Prabodh Kirtilal Mehta was conferred the Order of Leopold II from the King of Belgium in 1993 and Officer in de Kroonorde in 2004.
MEHTAS of MOHIT DIAMONDS
BALANCE: $16.23 Muslim
Six from the family of Vrajlal Mehta own approximately $16.23 million (Rs 100.62 crore) in three Antwerp-based companies which have accounts with HSBC. Two account holders also figure in the British Virgin Islands list released by the ICIJ in 2014.
Anoop Mehta said, “I don’t have any account in HSBC.”
RASIKLAL KUMAR MEHTA and NITA KUMAR MEHTA
BALANCE: $117,216
The balance in the account of Rasiklal Mehta for 2006-07 was $117,216 (Rs 72.67 lakh).
MEHTAS of ROSY BLUE
BALANCE: $53.63 mn
Six of this family of diamantaires have $53.63 million (Rs 332.50 crore) in HSBC
P
PARIKHS of MAHENDRA BROTHERS EXPORTS
BALANCE: $30.13 m
Four second-generation cousins – Saunak Jitendra Parikh, Milan Kavichandra Parikh, Jay Ketan Parikh and Raj Hiten Parikh – hold $30.13 million (Rs 186.80 crore) in HSBC. The account is held in the name of Laptis Trading Ltd and Sulay Trading Ltd, both registered in Tortola, Switzerland, known for tax management vehicles.
14 offshore accounts linked to RIL: The Indian Express
(Below is a summary. A graphic from the report {$601m. in 14 accounts linked to RIL} appears elsewhere on this page. The full report can be read at The Indian Express )
$600-mn trail to RIL in maze of 14 accounts
Appu Esthose Suresh | The Indian Express February 10, 2015
Documents related to the HSBC account holders lend an insight into the $601-million (Rs 3,726 crore) held through companies, officials and associates of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).
While there is no clarity on the ultimate beneficial owners, an analysis of 14 HSBC bank accounts, which in turn are held by 14 offshore entities, show that these accounts are linked to RIL. These companies are interlinked through inter-corporate ownership and common officials.
A spokesperson for RIL said: “Neither RIL nor Mr Mukesh Ambani have or had any illegitimate bank accounts anywhere in the world.”
Bank data shows that a majority of these entities opened HSBC accounts a few months before the division of the erstwhile Reliance empire between the two brothers — Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani — on June 18, 2005.
The Walfenzaos of Monaco
The first in the series of accounts that can be clustered together under Mukesh Ambani-led RIL was opened on February 2, 2004 — Infrastructure Company Ltd. The Monaco-registered company had the largest account: $400 million (Rs 2,520 crore).
The three officials linked to Infrastructure Company Ltd are Chimanlal Jivandas Damani, James and Cathy Walfenzao.
James Walfenzao is a fiduciary management expert which specialises in setting up trusts and tax-exempt vehicles in offshore jurisdictions.
On February 2, 2004, half-an-hour after Infrastructure Company Ltd opened an account with HSBC, another account was opened: Motech Software Pvt Ltd, then headed by [Reliance’s chief liaison officer] Sandeep Tandon [see under ‘T’].
A second set of companies, which do not show any balance for 2006-07, are in turn beneficial holders of the previous set of companies which hold balance amounts. Stayer, Tremaine, Bartow are registered in the Netherlands, while Alloy and Antalis are registered in the British Virgin Islands and Lasemo in St Lucia.
The ultimate beneficial owners of these companies are not known but, according to documents maintained by HSBC, two names are common to these companies — James Walfenzao and Jairaj Sampat.
Jairaj Sampat is Managing Director of Reliance Global BV based out of the Netherlands.
In Canbar Holdings and Flag Telecom, senior RIL officials were listed as officials. In case of Canbar, where the beneficial owners are Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani, Sandeep Tandon was listed as an official. Similarly, in Flag Telecom, PMS Prasad (now with RIL), Sandeep Tandon and Parminder Dost were listed as officials while Anil Ambani and Mukesh Ambani were listed as beneficial owners.
Swiss HSBC’s Top 100 Indian account holders
#swissleaks: Top 100 HSBC account holders with Indian addresses
Express News Service | February 9, 2015 For the full report please click this link.
Here is the full #swissleaks list
1. Uttamchandani Gopaldas Wadhumal/Family $54,573,535
2. Mehta Rihan Harshad/ Family $53,631,788
3. Tharani Mahesh Thikamdas $40,615,288
4. Gupta Shravan $32,398,796
5. Kothari Bhadrashyam Harshad/ Family $31,555,874
6. Shaunak Jitendra Parikh/Family $30,137,608
7. Tandon Sandeep $26,838,488
8. Ambani Mukesh Dhirubhai $26,654,991
9. Ambani Anil $26,654,991
10. Krishna Bhagwan Ramchand $23,853,117
11. Dost Parimal Pal Singh $21,110,345
12. Goyal Naresh Kumar $18,716,015
13. Mehta Ravichandra Vadilal $18,250,253
14. Patel Kanubhai Ashabhai $16,059,129
15. Sachiv Rajesh Mehta $12,341,074
16. Anurag Dalmia/Family $9,609,371
17. Ravichandran Mehta Balkrishna $8,757,113
18. Kumudchandra Shantilal Mehta/Family $8,450,703
19. Patel Rajeshkumar Govindlal/Family $6,908,661
20. Hemant Dhiraj $6,237,932
21. Anup Mehta/Family $5,976,998
22. Tandon Annu $5,728,042
23. Sidharth Burman $5,401,579
24. Salgoacar Dipti Dattaraj $5,178,668
25. Dabriwala Surbhit/Family $5,000,000
26. Vaghela Balwantkumar Dullabhai $4,405,465
27. Dilipkumar Dalpatlal Mehta $4,255,230
28. Kuldip & Gurbachan Singh Dhingra $4,144,256
29. Lakhani Jamna Thakurdas $4,123,673
30. Rajiv Gupta $4,113,705
31. Sawhney Arminder Singh $3,965,881
32. Israni Loveen Gurumukhdas $3,824,104
33. Natvarlal Bhimbhai Desai/Family $3,746,078
34. Tulsiani Jawaharlal Gulabrai/Family $3,730,145
35. Gupta Rajiv $3,545,416
36. Jaiswal Ladli Pershad $3,496,063
37. Carvahlo Aloysius Joseph $3,313,788
38. Pradip Burman $3,199,875
39. Tulsiani Sham Gulabrai/Family $3,066,991
40. Vithaldas Janaki Kishore $3,031,220
41. Kumar Venu Raman $3,063,064
42. Thakkar Dilip Jayantilal $2,989,534
43. Tulsiani Partab Gulabrai $2,901,435
44. Adenwalla Dhun Dorab/Family $2,863,271
45. Burman Pradip $2,831,238
46. Tulsiani Naraindas Gulbari $2,818,300
47. Dasot Praveen $2,801,634
48. Patel Lalitaben Chimanbhai $2,741,488
49. Chatha Joginder Singh $2,732,838
50. Shyam Prasad Murarka $2,546,516
51. Dhurvendra Prakash Goel $2,488,239
52. Nanda Suresh/Family $2,303,713
53. Gidwani Anan Nelum $2,228,582
54. Pratap Chhaganlal Joisher/Family $2,209,346
55. Mehta Devaunshi Anoop $2,136,830
56. Shaw Mohammad Haseeb/Family $2,133,581
57. Ahmed Rizwan Syed/Family $2,125,644
58. Vinita Sunil Chugani $2,085,158
59. Sawney Bhushan Lal $2,043,474
60. Parminder Singh Kalra $2,042,180
61. Chowdhury Ratan Singh $1,987,504
62. Dhirani Vikram $1,915,148
63. Nanda Sardarilal Mathradas $1,824,849
64. Wilkinson Martha $1,824,717
65. Sahney Devinder Singh $1,763,835
66. Taneja Dharam Vir $1,748,541
67. Dhindsa Komal $1,597,425
68. Chatwani Trikamji/Family $1,594,114
69. Pittie Madhusudanlal Narayanlal $1,462,594
70. Bhardwaj Anil $1,435,781
71. Dipendu Bapalal Shah $1,362,441
72. Bhartia Alok $1,349,044
73. Singh Shubha Sunil $1,348,983
74. Dansinghani Shewak Jivatsing/Family $1,267,743
75. Kumar Davinder/Family $1,231,088
76. Jasdanwalla Arshad Husain Adamsi/Family $1,229,723
77. Jhaveri Harish Shantichand/ Family $1,191,144
78. Singhvi Ganpat $1,194,388
79. Milan Mehta/Family $1,153,957
80. Tuksiani Ashok Gulabrai $1,140,890
81. Modi Krishan Kumar $1,139,967
82. Garodia Bishwanath $1,071,858
83. Jagasia Anuradha Anil $1,039,648
84. Vithaldas Kishore/Family $1,020,028
85. Chandrashekar Kadirvelu Babu/Family $1,007,357
86. Galani Dipak Varandma/Family $940,191
87. Sawhney Arun Ravindranath $914,698
88. Merwah Chander Mohan $909,309
89. Patel Atul Thakorbhai $813,295
90. Nathani Kumar Saturgun $751,747
91. Sathe Subhash/Family $749,370
92. Shah Anil Pannalal/Family $742,187
93. Madhiok Romesh $719,559
94. Bhaven Prematlal Jhaveri $717,654
95. Kinariwala Kalpesh Harshad $713,340
96. Gokal Bhavesh Ravindra $699,184
97. Lamba Sanjiv $644,923
98. Shobha Bharat Kumar Asher $641,387
99. Kathoria Rakesh Kumar $589,753
100. Bhansali Alkesh Pratap Chandra $579,609
2015
The Times of India, Nov 03 2015
Govt lacks seriousness on stashed cash: Whistleblower
Man who leaked HSBC list says a lot of info hasn't been used
Claiming that “millions of crores worth of illicit funds“ were flowing out of India, HSBC whistleblower Hervé Falciani said he was willing to cooperate with investigative agencies on tracing black money, but felt “disappointed“ by the response so far. Falciani is facing charges in Switzerland of leaking bank account details from HSBC's Geneva branch -a list that reached the French government and was subsequently shared with New Delhi because it listed accounts of Indians who had stashed funds abroad. “We are not here to talk about merely figures, but about possible solutions,“ Falciani said, adding that there is a “lot of information that has not been used by the Indian authorities“. Falciani said he would require protection if he were to assist the authorities in India. Falciani has in recent months written to India twice offering his assistance in the black money probe. In April, he wrote to PM Modi, while in August he wrote to special investigation team (SIT) chief Justice M B Shah (Retd). He, however, said he was disappointed with the response and “lack of seriousness of the Indian government“. Earlier in 2015, he had hinted that he possessed addi tional information on the lines of the list of 628 Indian entities holding accounts with the bank in Geneva. In the letter dated August 21, 2015, Falciani said,“There is an urgent need to focus... on unravelling the role of financial intermediaries. The investigation must not be restricted to interrogating clients just to find out how much they have in accounts but also how they proceeded. If this is not done, status quo will prevail as far as the black money problem in India is concerned.“ In his letter, Falciani had apparently said that the then SIT adviser K V Chowdary had met him in Paris in December, 2014, with regard to seeking assistance.
See also
Indian money in foreign banks <> Indian money in HSBC, Switzerland<> Indian money in Liechtenstein banks <> Sri Lankan money in Swiss banks<> Rich List: India <>