MOMENT OF TRUTH ON DAR'S SWISS BILLIONS

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Zitto Kabwe peruses the report presented by the Tanzania Revenue Authority board yesterday during its meeting with the parliamentary team in Dar es Salaam. Left is PAC vice chairman Ismail Aden Rage.

Dar es Salaam. Nearly four years down the road, Tanzanians will finally get to know the truth about the Swiss billions that are allegedly hidden in the secret bank accounts of local politicians, businessmen and public servants.

Attorney General George Masaju told The Citizen last month that the probe report was ready but the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) ordered that the findings be tabled in Parliament next week.

The report is highly anticipated, given that it will reveal who owns what in offshore bank accounts. It will also set in motion legal action against the suspects.

PAC earlier asked the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) and Central Bank of Tanzania (BoT) to disclose the measures they had taken to trace the money. They had not delivered concrete details yesterday, though, and PAC ordered that the report compiled by a taskforce led by former AG Frederick Werema be tabled in Parliament next week.

BoT Deputy Governor Juma Reli said yesterday that the bank had yet to take action against leaders with offshore accounts despite a recent leak that shows that 99 Tanzanians have millions of dollars in HSBC bank. Mr Reli, who declined to name those believed to have off-shore accounts, said he was aware that the report was ready but only the AG could release it. The Foreign Exchange Act requires that Tanzanians apply for a permit before they can open offshore bank accounts, according to Bank of Tanzania (BoT) Secretary Yuston Tongola.

Judge Masaju told editors in Dar es Salaam last month that the final report would be tabled in Parliament any time and the House would then debate the document and decide on the next course of action.

The AG’s revelation came in the wake of leaked data that showed that 99 Tanzanians wired $114 million (Sh205 billion) to HSBC Bank in Switzerland from 2006 to 2007. But that amount hardly comes close to the $1billion that has reportedly been stashed away yearly from Tanzania in the form of capital flight, tax evasion and money laundering.

PAC Chairman Zitto Kabwe yesterday urged the AG to table the report in the next session of Parliament that is scheduled to kick off on Tuesday next week.

Initially, Mr Kabwe summoned Judge Masaju to appear before the PAC and present crucial information on the Swiss billions, but he later backed down after the Deputy BoT governor indicated that the report was ready.

The parliamentary committee further directed the Central Bank to use the HSBC report to compile a list of individuals and companies with offshore accounts.

Mr Kabwe revealed that HSBC officials came to Tanzania to meet their clients in 2006 and 2007, contrary to the Foreign Exchange Act. “The government should consider legal action against HSBC officials for conducting business in the country without a licence,’’ he said.

According to PAC member Ismail Aden Rage, the law does not allow Tanzanians to stash away that kind of money. He wondered why the Central Bank had not yet cracked the whip on the offshore account holders.

Mr Rage sought an explanation on the 1998 circular that barred individuals from opening an account outside the country without a valid permit, considering that Tanzanians were still sending their cash to offshore accounts.

According to the deputy governor, the government is still carrying out investigations in an attempt to identify all those with external accounts. The exercise is expected to be completed in December 2015. PAC further directed the authorities to ask the governments of France and Switzerland to share information on Tanzanians with offshore accounts.

At the PAC meeting where TRA Commissioner General Rished Bade was grilled, the Central Bank deputy governor told the committee that the bank did not share information with TRA, meaning that, even after some companies were permitted to open an account outside the country, there was a very real possibility of evading tax.

According to Mr Kabwe, mining companies with offshore accounts file for tax returns but BoT does not share information with TRA. Earlier, the TRA Commissioner General told the committee that the authority joined the Global Forum on Tax Transparency last month—and this allows automatic information exchange.

“This forum compels members to give information on taxpayers inside and outside the country and we are also able to trace people with offshore accounts,” said Mr Bade. “We are currently in peer review and, after investigation is complete, we will get to know the 99 Tanzanians believed to have stashed millions of dollars outside the country.’

The Citizen