SC seeks govt reply on black money in foreign a/c

Expressing concern that the black money stashed in banks abroad might have originated from arms deals, drug trafficking and smuggling, the Supreme Court today asked the government as to what action it had taken against individuals and firms having foreign accounts.

A bench headed by Justice B Sudarshan Reddy directed the government to file a response by Thursday next.

The court also sought replies from the government, RBI and CVC on a petition seeking direction to the government to ratify UN convention on corruption which would facilitate in bringing back black money from foreign banks.

Asking the government not to restrict its probe only to the tax evasion aspect, the bench told the government to go after the sources of black money.

"We want to know what steps you have taken against the people who have accumulated so much money in foreign banks. What are the sources of the money," the bench asked.

"These are people in the country who are amenable to the law. What action have you taken against them when you came to know that they have stashed money in foreign banks?

"What are the sources of the money? Where has the money come from? It might be because of arms deals, smuggling, narcotics, drug trafficking or something else. These are more serious issues, when you know the name, what action you have taken?," the bench asked.