New Delhi: In a major breakthrough in the black money case, the Centre on Tuesday submitted before the Supreme Court the names of 18 people believed to have stashed undeclared income in Liechtenstein’s LGT Bank. The names were given to the government by the German tax authorities in 2009.
The Centre informed the court that these individuals had been investigated by the income-tax department, and 17 of them were being prosecuted. One of the 18 had died. All the individuals named are businessmen from New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Gujarat.
The Centre also gave the court in a sealed envelope the names of eight other individuals named by Germany, but against whom no evidence of tax evasion had been found. The Centre asked a bench headed by Justice H.L. Dattu not to make these names public. The bench, also comprising Justices Ranjana Prakash Desai and Madan B. Lokur, however, said they will discuss the contents of the documents and decide the issue on May 1.
The court had in 2011 told the Centre to make public the names received from Germany in 2009.
The names listed in the Centre’s affidavit include Mohan Manoj Dhupelia, Ambrish Manoj Dhupelia, Bhavya Manoj Dhupelia, Manoj Dhupelia and Rupal Dhupelia from Ambrunova Trust and Marline Management. The tax department found evidence against four members of Manichi Trust Hasmuk Ishwarlal Gandhi, Chintan Hasmukh Gandhi, Madhu Hasmukh Gandhi and late Mirav Hasmukh Gandhi.
It said prosecution was initiated against Chandrakant Ishwarlal Gandhi, Rajest Chandrakant Gandhi, Viraj Chandrakant Gandhi and Dhanalaxmi Chandrakant Gandhi from Ruvisha Trust.
