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Mauritius to help India trace black money

By The Assam Tribune

NEW DELHI, Feb 20 � Facing flak over its tax-friendly regime allegedly facilitating the flow of black money, Mauritius has promised full support to India�s quest for unearthing the source and destination of such illicit wealth, reports PTI.

At the same time, the Indian Ocean�s island nation has also asserted that it will not allow any �sensational fishing expedition� and has taken strong exception to its name being linked to each and every financial scandal.

Replying to email queries on whether it would help India track black money, the Mauritian Finance Ministry told PTI that Mauritius was collaborating with India to track the �black money� and the collaboration between the two countries has been strengthened on this front.

Mauritius� Ministry of Finance and Economic Development replied in the affirmative to a query on whether it would share banking information on Indian entities with accounts in the country.

Concerns have been raised in the recent past over suspicion of round-tripping or routing of Indians� illicit money back into the country through the Mauritius.

Indian agencies are said to have increased their oversight after they noticed a significant surge in venture capital funds coming from Mauritius in sectors like telecom and real estate, which have been under close scrutiny in recent times for money laundering.

The tax-friendly regime in Mauritius has always been a key factor for entities that wish to invest in India to set up shop in the island nation.

However, this tax benefit has also come in handy for those wishing to indulge in round-tripping activities or routing of illicit funds back into India through Mauritius.

Detailing the various steps taken by Mauritius on the black money issue, the Finance Ministry of the island nation said it has received various information requests from India on this matter and they all have been duly answered.

�However, information sharing for intelligence purposes and mutual legal assistance are provided on established international practices and not on sensational fishing expeditions,� the ministry said.

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