SIT asks RBI to share black money data with enforcement agencies

The Special Investigation Team on black money has asked Reserve Bank to develop an institutional mechanism to share data with enforcement agencies to track illicit fund flows out of the country.

The SIT headed by Justice M B Shah (retd), in an August 11 letter to the RBI governor, impressed upon need to establish an institutional mechanism for sharing of data and stressed on effective sharing of information between various government departments.

“Chairman SIT has asked RBI for an institutional mechanism for sharing of data in its various databases with the enforcement authorities,” a Finance Ministry tweet said on Monday.

It has asked banking regulator RBI to develop an institutional mechanism to track illicit financial flows out of the country.
The Supreme Court appointed SIT was set up to suggest methods to curb black money in the economy.

The SIT feels that the data can be shared only by having one agency such as Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) or any other agency, as a data warehouse.

“From the said data warehouse, various agencies can gather the relevant information for taking early appropriate action,” the SIT said.

It said since the data would be available with one agency, it can be relevant to action expected to be taken by other law enforcement agencies.

At present, RBI holds the information with respect to all types of foreign exchange transactions under various categories.

“SIT feels that for controlling and tracking illicit financial flows out of the country, use of RBI data by various law enforcement agencies, like Enforcement Directorate, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and CBDT is of critical importance,” the Finance Ministry further added in a statement on Monday.