The Indian Central Board of Taxes is to look into the financial affairs of high net worth individuals by asking its employees across the country to use a new tool for tracking large transactions made by HNW persons, reports Tax-News.

The Individual Transaction Statement is a tool developed by the finance ministry to track incomes, particularly those of wealthy individuals, and to allow tax investigators to view HNW assets and recent transactions such as investments in mutual funds and shares.

The details are compiled from annual information reports from banks and other financial institutions. The financial dealings of more than 500 HNW individuals are thought to have already been seen by tax officials with a view to recovering lost tax revenues. Furthermore, a panel has been set up to study transactions by HNW individuals both in India and abroad.

The decision to implement the ITS tool is said to have been made due to events at Citibank in the Northern city of Gurgaon, where a relationship manager had been accused of siphoning nearly INR4 billion ($89 million) from 20 HNW accounts.

Clients were said to have been promised high returns from investment schemes that didn’t exist, and the funds were then transferred to accounts in fictitious names, according to media reports.