NEW DELHI: Lashing out at those, including the Congress party, who want the gove

rnment to make names of black money holders public, finance minister Arun Jaitle
y on Sunday said unauthorized disclosure of such names can sabotage investigatio
n and benefit the guilty.
"An unauthorized disclosure of information is fraught with both investigation an
d economic consequences. They can sabotage the investigation. They can attract s
anctions in the form of withholding taxes," he said in a Facebook post on a day
when Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that all efforts would be made to bri
ng back black money stashed abroad.
Questioning those demanding disclosure of names in violation of tax treaties, Ja
itley said: "The Congress Party's stand is understandable. It does not want evid
ence to be forthcoming in support of the names available with SIT. Are some othe
rs ill informed, just indulging in bravado or are they Trojan horses?"
The minister exuded confidence that the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which
has been entrusted by the Supreme Court with the investigation, will succeed in
bringing out the truth and the NDA government made available all the names in it
s possession to the SIT on 27th June, 2014 itself.
"The NDA government has had an exemplary record in this matter ... It will conti
nue to support the SIT fully and unequivocally in search of truth," Jaitley said
.
The choice before the government was between unauthorized disclosure and disclos
ure as per treaties, he said, adding that the latter is both a fair and benefici
al proposition.
"It will help in collection of evidence and exposure of a wrong doing in accorda
nce with law and fair procedure. A disclosure without evidence would ensure that
evidence is never available," he added.
Earlier in his address to the nation over radio, Modi said that bringing back bl
ack money from outside the country is an "article of faith" for him and nothing
will be lacking in his efforts to do so.
Last week the government had submitted to the Supreme Court in sealed envelopes
details of 627 account holders in HSBC Bank Geneva.
The government also came under attack from opposition parties that it was going
back on its election promise to unearth and bring back black money stashed abroa
d.