HSBC & LGT Account Holders :Prosecution Under PMLA Possible !

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The individuals whose name figured in the list of persons having accounts in HSBC will get charged under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) even as the  income tax department has started assessment proceeding against them and are planning to start prosecution proceeding under Income tax Act.the first complaints are expected to be filed in Delhi and Mumbai with regard to people figuring on the banks’ list.

The move by income tax department is significant also particularly in the wake of the recent disclosure made by a US Senate panel that had accused HSBC of exposing the American and Indian financial systems to various terror financing, money laundering  due to its poor risk control systems.

What was HSBC & LGT Bank account Matter ?

The list of 700 Indians who allegedly hold undisclosed HSBC accounts in Geneva was given to the government by French authorities last year. India had also received information from Germany in 2008 about 26 Indian account holders of LGT Bank, situated in Liechtenstein, a small country in Europe.

The department, according to the sources, has prepared a sound case after learning from the experiences of the LGT Bank accounts cases which is already under prosecution. India has reportedly obtained data of over 700 HSBC accounts from French government channels. In 80 cases till now, the department has detected undisclosed income of Rs 438 crore and taxes of Rs 135 crore have been realised so far.