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| Friday, 21 December 2001 |
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Indian taxmen freeze accounts of 10 foreign investors NEW DELHI, Dec 19 (AFP) - India's tax authorities on Wednesday froze the bank accounts of at least 10 foreign investors for breaching rules governing foreign currency transactions. KR Bhargava, director at India's tax enforcement directorate, told reporters that the bank accounts of at least 10 foreign institutional investors had been frozen for violation of the foreign exchange regulation act. "Amounts involved are not heavy and could be a few hundred thousand rupees (thousand dollars)," Bhargava said. He refused to name the foreign investors or cite which rules were violated. Meanwhile, tax authorities also froze accounts of First Global Stockbroking Pvt., a local Bombay stock brokerage firm, and arrested its founder, Shankar Sharma. The investigation follows a ban last month by the country's central Reserve Bank of India on overseas corporations making fresh investments in Indian stock markets. "The ban doesn't stop investors from buying or selling shares on the Indian stock exchanges," Bhargava said. India's stock market regulator in September recommended the ban after investigations revealed that some Indian brokers were using the loophole to repatriate profits earned from illegal share trades. The scandal caused India's benchmark stock index to plunge 15 percent in March. The Press Trust of India also reported that income tax officials carried out raids at 20 premises belonging to former managing director of Tata Finance Limited Dilip S Pendse and his associates in the western state of Maharashtra. "At least 18 bank lockers have been sealed so far and documents, cash, foreign currency and jewellery seized in the searches. The raids are still continuing," a senior tax official told the agency. The seized documents pertained to unaccounted transactions made by Pendse who was sacked by his company along with four other senior officials in July. |
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