Rise of Indian money in Swiss banks not surprising: Yechury

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury today said while Indian money in Swiss banks rose by 50 per cent in 2017, the Centre wrote off the corporate world's unpaid loans worth lakhs of crores and allowed them to flee after looting public money.

The CPI(M) general secretary said the prime minister had no intention to honour the promises made by him in 2014.

"Indian money in Swiss banks rises 50% to over Rs 7,000 crore in 2017: a fraction of Indian Black Money in Switzerland. Modi govt writes off lakhs of crores of unpaid loans of crony corporates, businessmen flee India after looting public money under his watch; this data is no surprise," Yechury tweeted.

From falsifying history to making new promises, 'Jumlaman' has no time or intention to remember the tall promises he made in 2014...from depositing Rs 15 lakh in each bank account to making rupee stronger to doubling farmers' income, he has only insulted & humiliated us Indians #BlackDays, he said.

According to the official annual data released by the Swiss National Bank (SNB), the central banking authority of the Alpine nation, money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose over 50 per cent to CHF 1.01 billion (Rs 7,000 crore) in 2017, reversing a three-year downward trend amid India's clampdown on suspected black money stashed there.

In comparison, the total funds held by all foreign clients of Swiss banks rose about 3 per cent to CHF 1.46 trillion or about Rs 100 lakh crore in 2017, it said.

The surge in Indian money held with Swiss banks comes as a surprise given India's continuing clampdown on suspected black money stashed abroad, including in banks of Switzerland that used to be known for their famed secrecy walls for years.

The Indian money in Swiss banks had fallen by 45 per cent in 2016, marking their biggest ever yearly plunge, to CHF 676 million (about Rs 4,500 crore) -- the lowest ever since the European nation began making the data public in 1987.