The list of 627 names provided by HSBC, which also operates in India, does not have any big names connected to political parties or industrialists, government sources said on Wednesday.
The sources were also sceptical about recovery of huge amounts from the 350 odd Indians who could face prosecution for allegedly stashing black money in foreign banks as their account entries were too old and reflected relatively small deposits.
While the government has submitted a list of 627 Indians who hold accounts at HSBC to the Supreme Court today, sources in the tax department say that the black money that the government can hope to recover - including penalties - is Rs. 3,000 crore, an amount that greatly dampens talk of billions of dollars that could be brought back to India.
On an average, the accounts hold about 40-50 crores each, said sources. A few tip the scales with a balance of between 500 and 1,000 cores, but they are held by trusts in tax havens, and do not list individuals' names. Income tax officials say they have failed to uncover the beneficiaries of these trusts.
The sources said the account entries being old, and if the account holders have emptied their accounts, the government would be able to recover very little even after freezing them in cooperation with Swiss authorities, which too was a remote possibility.
Whatever little the Union government would be able to recover from these 350-odd account holders was because of the amendment to the assessment rules extending the assessment time limit from 6 years to 16 years, the sources further said.
