Swiss stash turning into gold

Hyderabad: The rampant gold smuggling into the country could have a Swiss bank connection, indicate Customs sources. In recent months gold smuggling has peaked at the Hyderabad airport and many have been caught concealing gold bars even inside their bodies.

Citing an Intelligence Bureau report, Customs sources said that the gold being smuggled into the country could be cash stashed away in Swiss banks converted into gold after the steps taken by the Narendra Modi government to bring back black money. Most of the gold comes from Dubai and Malaysia. The smuggling is carried out by hawala operators based in Indian cities and from Dubai.

Read: No official estimate on black money: Arun Jaitley

Smuggling gold is a highly profitable venture. Experts say that an estimated Rs 10 lakh can be earned from each kilo of gold smuggled in. “People are hiding gold in even their rectums and coming in. There is a deluge of cases in the last few months. But we don't know how much gold has already come in because a woman we recently caught had made the same trip 13 times,” an official said.

Basing information on an IB tip-off, sources say some of the gold could be from Swiss banks. Bringing back black money stashed in Swiss bank accounts has been a major poll plank of the BJP. It had even formed a SIT to probe the black money going out of the country.

Read: No list of Indians holding money in Swiss banks: Arun Jaitley

Sources said the IB hinted that money is being withdrawn from Swiss bank accounts and converted into gold bars and then smuggled in by hawala agents. Customs officials, however, said the theory hasn’t been proved yet as a link is hard to find.