Those involved in stashing black money need to be prosecuted: Prashant Bhushan

Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Prashant Bhushan on Monday said that the people involved with stashing black money abroad need to be prosecuted adding that laundering of money needed to stop.

"The government did not even reveal the earlier list. They have been sitting on these names; first it was the Congress and now the BJP. This is corrupt money and these people need to be prosecuted. I had mentioned earlier as well that laundering of money needs to stop," said Bhushan.

"Let's see what SIT has to say on this but if you want to bring back black money why not end the ways black money can be used in the nation?" he added.

Earlier in the day, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is the most competent authority to take cognizance of the information over black money issue and that it would take the appropriate steps on the matter.

According to reports, the government is expected to disclose the names of over 60 Indians and entities as part of its crackdown on black money accounts as reported in the HSBC bank's Geneva branch list.

Earlier in December, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had submitted a report to the Supreme Court which revealed that persons on the HSBC list held Rs. 4,479 crores in Swiss banks.

In an official statement released by the SIT, it had said that out of 628 names on the HSBC list received from France, 201 are either non-residents or non-traceable, leaving 427 persons' cases as actionable cases.

The Supreme Court had directed the Centre to ensure that the ongoing probe on those suspected of stashing black money in bank accounts abroad is completed by March 2015.

Recovering the black money stashed abroad was also a prominent topic in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's election manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls.