Govt taking measures on whistleblowers’ tips to tackle black money: Jayant Sinha

New Delhi: The government is taking specific action on the basis of information provided by whistleblowers in its measures to tackle black money stashed abroad, parliament was told on Tuesday.

Certain persons, claiming to be whistleblowers, have made an offer of assistance in the investigation of black money stashed away abroad.

Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha expressed the union government's plans in this regard, in the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

The government has taken specific steps in this regard. Disclosure of the steps taken, at this stage, would not be in the interest of further investigation, he said.

In a separate reply, he said the government has initiated various steps to deal with black money stashed abroad, including setting up of a special investigation team (SIT) and enacting a new law to deal with black money in off-shore accounts.

The minister also said 669 prosecutions related to tax evasion were launched in 2014-15, up from 641 in the previous fiscal.

"Prosecution complaints under applicable provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961, have been filed in appropriate cases," Sinha said, adding the new black money law, with stricter penalty and prosecution provisions, had come into force from July 1. (IANS)

(Picture Courtesy:indiatoday.in)