The Burman brothers of Dabur Group said in a statement that they had opened accounts in foreign banks when they were NRIs and were legally allowed to do so. Rejecting Mr. Kejriwal’s allegations, the statement said: “It was unfortunate that every person having a foreign bank account is painted with the same brush. We wish to state that these accounts were opened by the Burman family members when they were NRIs, and were legally allowed to open such accounts.”
Claiming that the monies had been sent out of the declared and tax-assessed incomes earned in India, the statement said the amounts had been officially remitted from India through official banking channels and as per the guidelines under the Foreign Exchange Management Act. “The complete details of the remittances have been voluntarily, and as per law, filed with the Income Tax Department, and appropriate taxes paid…”
On its part, HSBC Bank has reacted cautiously to Mr. Kejriwal’s charge that it indulged in money-laundering.
The bank said it viewed compliance with the law very seriously. “HSBC Bank in India notes certain allegations made today [on Friday]. The bank cannot comment on the specific details of the allegations…, which relate to issues in the past. HSBC takes compliance with the law, wherever it operates, very seriously. With a new senior global leadership team and a new strategy in place since last year, HSBC continues to take concrete steps to strengthen compliance, risk management and culture,” it said in a statement.
No foreign account in Goyal’s name, says Jet
Jet Airways has denied the existence of any account in the name of its chairman Naresh Goyal in HSBC Bank, Geneva, as alleged by India Against Corruption on Friday.
“There is no account in the name Mr. Goyal in the Swiss bank… Besides, he has been a non-resident India (NRI) since January 1991. He is entitled to have bank accounts outside India. The suggestion that there has been any unaccounted money stashed away in Swiss accounts is entirely false,” it said in a statement.
The airline said Mr. Goyal had received a routine enquiry letter from the Income Tax Department about a bank account at HSBC, Geneva, of M/S Tailwinds Ltd., a company based on the Isle of Man. “The existence of the company… is fully disclosed to various departments of the Government of India. All questions [from the Income Tax Department] have been satisfactorily replied…”
