RBI governor Raghuram Rajan on Tuesday said that there could be genuine reasons for having offshore accounts.
Addressing the media on the ‘Panama Papers’ leak, Rajan said, the multi-agency probe will look into the legitimacy of such holdings of Indians named in the list.
The Reserve Bank of India is part of the multi-agency group announced by the government on Monday. The list names nearly 500 Indians including celebrities and industrialists.
We are obviously part of the investigative team that is going to look into this matter. It is important to note that there are legitimate reasons to have accounts outside.Raghuram Rajan, RBI Governor
Rajan made the statement after unveiling the first bi-monthly policy for 2016-17.
The LRS scheme allows you to take money outside. Yet to see what is legitimate and what is not legitimate. That’s the process of investigation that will take place.
Under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), all resident individuals, including minors, are allowed to freely remit up to $ 2,50,000 per financial year for any permissible current or capital account transaction or a combination of both.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Monday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the issue with him and on his advise the group has been set up. The probe panel includes officials from CBDT, RBI and the FIU (Financial Intelligence Unit).
The list included foundations and trusts and passport details of 234 Indians.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money said on Monday that it will investigate thoroughly the Panama Papers issue.
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