New Delhi: The US on Friday offered assistance
to India to deal with money laundering and fake currency
menace, besides cooperation in issues related to cross-border
terrorism.
The visiting Secretary of the US Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) Janet Napolitano called on Finance Minister
Pranab Mukherjee here and the two leaders explored the areas
of bilateral cooperation.
"Napolitano sought cooperation and offered assistance in
money laundering, counterfeiting of currency, cross-border
terrorism, cyber security, secured cargo...," a finance
ministry statement said.
In the meeting, Mukherjee stressed on the need for
cooperation in investigations relating to money laundering,
drug-money flow, stashing of black money abroad and
transfer-pricing mechanism.
The two sides also decided to establish a new chapter in
US-India cooperation in various areas relating to finance
ministry with particular emphasis on Customs issues.
"(the two also) noted the excellent cooperation between
Indian Customs and US Customs and agreed to explore new areas
of mutual interest to safeguard the security of the global
supply chain," the release said.
Black money has become a big political issue in the
country, with the opposition accusing the government of not
doing enough to bring back the illegal money stashed abroad.
PTI
