NEW DELHI, July 3 — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (July 01) said more than 300,000 companies were under scanner due to suspicious transactions after demonetisation of the high value currency notes last year.

Modi banned rupee 500 and rupee 1000 notes on November 08 to combat black money, terror funding and contraband currency notes in circulation.

The Indian prime minister said the government had already de-registered 100,000 companies after mining of data, resulting out of large scale deposits of banned notes in banks.

Furthermore, he revealed that 37,000 companies have been already identified, which indulged in money laundering and other illegal activities.

Modi also pointed out that the latest data of Swiss banks indicate the government’s steps to check black money had succeeded, where Indians’ money has dipped to a record low.

The Indian prime minister added that black money holders will now face more difficulties when Switzerland would start sharing real time information in two years.

Modi’s speech also garnered attention for its use of a theme from the Star Wars movies associated with villain Darth Vader and the Galactic Empire.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) replaces more than a dozen federal and state levies, unifying a US$2 trillion economy and 1.3 billion people into one of the world’s biggest common markets. — Reuters