Black money

The Pioneer > Online Edition : >> Blind about black money

The Swiss Government reportedly has placed India on top of a list of five countries, in terms of the magnitude of holdings. The total amount held by Indians is said to be $1,456 billion, about eight times more than the Indian national Budget.

So far, only the BJP and JD(U) have spoken on the need to get our wealth back to the country. Congress is hiding behind technicalities. The communists are barely to be heard on this subject apart from the mandatory press release. N.Ram and his team have no further opinions/analysis to offer on this subject.

Ram Narayan provides interesting information on the Vatican Bank

If the Indian citizen who has stashed money abroad is a Roman Catholic by religion and holds a valid baptismal certificate issued by a parish priest, his or her pay-backs and black money is likely to be hidden in the Vatican Bank (called The Institute for Works of Religion or IOR). Vatican City in the center of Rome is a internationally recognized independent city-state, and Italian government revenue officials are not able to enter its 100 acre area without permission from Vatican City's Secretary of State. The Vatican Bank within the Vatican's walls has a notorious reputation for secrecy and its connection to the Italian mafia. For many years in the 1980s, the bank's archbishop director could not enter Rome for fear of arrest. Neither India nor any other country looking for money kept by its citizens in this bank, will be able to access the accounts held in this infamous Roman Catholic financial institution.