Don't bank on us, Swiss banks tell India

New Delhi: Swiss banks may have turned over client details to the US, but they have said India is not welcome there on a name-fishing expedition.

"Swiss law and even OECD's Model Tax Convention do not permit fishing expeditions, in other words, the indiscriminate trawling through bank accounts in the hope of finding something interesting,” a top official at Swiss Bankers Association told PTI from Basel.

"This means that India cannot simply throw its telephone book at Switzerland and ask if any of these people have a bank account here," he added.

The secrecy shield provided by Swiss banks have always been a big issue in India, including during the campaign for this year's General Elections, and the Government recently said that it has approached Switzerland seeking details about bank accounts held by Indians there.