HSBC whistleblower Herve Falciani on Monday said that “lot of information” on illicit funds was lying unused by the Indian authorities and offered his cooperation to the investigative agencies in their black money probe. He also claimed that “millions of crores worth illicit funds” are flowing out of India.
Falacini was interacting with media here through Skype link, organised by 'Swaraj Abhiyan' leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav. He is facing charges in Switzerland of leaking details of bank account holders in Geneva branch of HSBC. The whistleblower believed to have worked for French agencies and subsequently was shared with India. Several Indian names were found in the leaked list.
“We are not here to talk about merely figures but about possible solutions,” Falciani said, adding that “lot of information that has not been used by the Indian authorities”. Falciani said money was not the driving force for sharing classified data on black money and other suspect accounts.
“It is not about money. I don't intend to become rich,” Falciani said when asked whether he is looking for money to share information with India.
He stressed governments across the globe should ensure that whistleblowers are protected. “We need just simple protection,” he added. “We are not protected... If I am coming to India, I will be arrested,” he said, adding that people need to understand that there are not many new ways to probe and combat the menace of black money.
The Finance Ministry in February this year had said the IT department was already in touch with Falciani, “who apparently brought out the names of persons holding undisclosed bank accounts in HSBC, Switzerland.” Bhushan and Yadav furnished a letter written by Falciani to Justice (retd) M B Shah who is heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money.
Falciani along with Bhushan said that the then SIT Advisor K V Chowdary had met him in Paris in December, 2014, with regard to seeking assistance in India's black money probe.