New Delhi: Eminent jurist Ram Jethmalani
Sunday rubbished Liechtenstein government`s contention that it
cannot share information relating to black money stashed by
Indians there due to absence of a treaty, saying a bilateral
agreement was not required to probe a crime.
"There is no need for a bilateral treaty. Bilateral
treaties are dependent upon double taxation business but here,
when a crime is being investigated there are already three
tiers under which they are bound to give us the information,"
the BJP MP said.
He was responding to a report that Liechtenstein
has declined help in India`s quest for suspected black money
trail to the small but rich European country bordering
Switzerland, citing absence of a bilateral treaty for such
information exchange.
"They are trying to engineer things so that they don`t
get any information...These all are tricks which are intended
to justify their acts," Jethmalani also said.
Acting upon Jethmalani`s petition on the black money
issue, the Supreme Court here had made remarks against
government for treating black money as a tax issue, saying it
was simple and pure theft of the Indian economy.
The Indian government is facing intense pressure from
the Opposition parties as well as the Supreme Court to take
action against those having stashed illicit wealth in foreign
banks, mainly in Switzerland and other locations such as
Liechtenstein and Cayman Islands.
Liechtenstein is a small country, located entirely
within the Alps range of mountains, with a total estimated
population of about 35,000. However, it is one of the richest
countries in the world and has the highest GDP per person in
the world.
PTI
