Basel, Switzerland:
These elections, much has been made of getting back black money stashed away in Swiss banks with the BJP making a major campaign around it.
And Swiss authorities could be more willing than ever before to help India track down it's black money. In March this year, Switzerland gave in to tremendous international pressure and agreed to adopt guidelines for banking standards set by the Organisation for Economic cooperation and Development's to help countries fighting tax evasion.
The BJP has been promising that it will get back the black money allegedly stashed away in Swiss banks. The PM, too, has conceded that there may be vast sums of such money and that the Congress will try and get it back.
Swiss banks have been wanting to appear more open now in an attempt to seem reliable to investors. But even though it may no longer be impossible to trace black money in these banks, it will be far from simple.
In Basel, the Swiss Bankers Association has said that in India's case Switzerland would be willing to give administrative assistance but banks will do what it takes to protect their clients from any kind of fishing expedition.
"India can't throw the telephone book at Switzerland and say does Mr Patel have an account here? There must be a well founded concrete evidence of wrongdoing and this again will come through the official channels. Black money and Swiss bank accounts have become good election fodder my plea would be please base accusation on facts," said James Nason, spokesperson, Swiss Bankers Association.
Nason also said that the figures that are being thrown around are incredible and there are no statistics that exists that have a scientific foundation for this.
So far, the Swiss bankers association has said they have not received a request from the Swiss government on any application from the Indian government.