‘Seeking Swiss banks’ info is gimmick’

bdnews24.com :
Opposition MP Kazi Firoz Rashid says the government has sought a list of the Bangladeshis who deposited money in Swiss banks even after knowing that the authorities would not provide the information.
He made the remarks at a time when Awami League and BNP are at loggerheads over a recent report that the amount of money stashed in Swiss banks by Bangladeshis had gone up.
“Bangladesh Bank has sought the list from the Swiss banks only to hoodwink people. The Swiss banks are not obliged to provide information,” the Jatiya Party (JP) MP told Parliament on Thursday.
According to media reports, Bangladesh Bank’s financial intelligence unit (FIU) wrote to Switzerland’s FIU on Tuesday requesting for detailed information of money deposited by Bangladeshis in Swiss banks.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had earlier said the government would bring back money stashed away in Swiss banks.
The BNP demanded an international probe to find out how much money was actually there.
Kazi Firoz Rashid expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of Bangladesh Bank.
“They cannot contain it when money is laundered.”
He alleged no official of Bangladesh Bank was interrogated over Hall-Mark scam. “They monitor everything round the clock.”
Hall Mark Group had laundered over Tk 29.6 billion from state-owned Sonali Bank by forging Letters of Credit.
The JP MP also came down hard on the government for not abolishing the board of directors of BASIC Bank even after irregularities were found in loan disbursement.
He said the banks were looting money in the name of corporate social responsibilities (CSR) programme.
The JP leader also expressed discontent over procrastination in the trial of cases of irregularities in financial sector.