Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: A day after revealing a few details of Swiss bank account holders and alleging that HSBC Bank was facilitating 'money laundering', activist-politician Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday questioned the government’s intention, asking whether hawala raids were mere face savers.
Kejriwal was reacting to a news report which said that searches are being conducted by the Income Tax Department at the offices of the operators who offer safe-vault services to small-time gold traders at Jhaveri Bazar in Mumbai to unearth 'hawala' transactions.
“News says small hawala traders raided. Why aren't big hawala racketeers like HSBC and other banks being raided? Why govt protecting dem?,” tweeted Kejriwal.
“Govt's intentions suspect. Are hawala raids mere face savers?,” he further wondered.
On Friday, the IAC leader had hit out at HSBC, accusing it of running a hawala racket. There was no statement from HSBC.
Also, Kejriwal had accused industrialists Mukesh and Anil Ambani, Jet Airways chief Naresh Goyal, Congress MP Annu Tandon and several other Indians of holding money in Swiss banks, allegations all of them denied.
Alleging that HSBC Bank was facilitating what he said was money laundering, Kejriwal had demanded the arrest of its top officials and the suspension of its operations in India.
Kejriwal claimed that an income tax official had told his seniors that HSBC officials were indulging in hawala. "No action has been taken against HSBC."
The Indian government, he said, was not serious about unearthing black money stashed in Swiss banks.
(With IANS inputs)
First Published: Saturday, November 10, 2012, 14:19