New Delhi: As India steps up its pressure on Switzerland to get details of suspected tax evaders having bank accounts in the European nation, a discreet probe is underway of each stock market dealing of over 100 entities linked to these cases to detect possible re-routing of black money.
The entities under watch include individuals whose names figure in a list of over 700 Swiss bank account holders, as also the bankers and associates related to banks whose Switzerland based branches are under scanner.
Besides, 10-15 listed Indian companies including a few blue-chip names directly or indirectly linked to these banks and their Indian customers are also under a close tab for any suspected market manipulations, senior officials said.
It is suspected that some of these entities may have brought back their illicit wealth through the stock market route, by using complex fund structures of certain overseas funds, including those floated by select European banking giants.
The official said that a few large global banks are under scanner, although it is also possible that the banks themselves might be unaware of the illicit activities being carried out by their executives for the benefit of their clients.
The official with the Indian regulator further said that these bankers are suspected to have first convinced their clients to move their funds to non-Swiss locations like Singapore, Dubai and London before eventual transmission to India, to avoid the ever-growing glare or regulatory and intelligence agencies on entities linked to Switzerland.
