Staff Reporter :
Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed said that companies are “smarter” than the government. It is because of this smartness that they have been able to launder so much money. “Now I realize how many kinds of tricks are involved in money laundering within companies,” he said.
He made this remark on Monday while speaking as the chief guest at the inauguration of the academic activities of the Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) Institute in Paltan, Dhaka. A seminar on “Financial Transparency in the Corporate Sector” was also held at the event organized by ERF.
Finance Secretary Md. Khairuzzaman Mozumder, Financial Reporting Council (FRC) Chairman Md. Sajjad Hossain Bhuiyan, President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) NKA Mobin, and former Commerce Secretary Shubhashish Bose also spoke at the program. The event was presided over by ERF President Daulat Akhtar and conducted by ERF General Secretary Abul Kashem.
The finance adviser said, “They (money launderers) are quite skilled in this matter. They don’t just send the money outright. They launder it through various layers. First, they transfer it from one place to another, and then from there to yet another place.” Commenting that the interim government is working with both strengths and weaknesses, Salehuddin Ahmed said, “Bangladesh’s image abroad is very good. Yesterday, Sunday, at one event, someone referred to the interim government as ‘useless.’ Such statements only help fascists.
I see that these kinds of remarks are being used to further weaken the interim government and to encourage fascists.”
He added, “That person also admitted that the interim government hasn’t embezzled money, has stabilized banks, and has increased foreign exchange reserves. However, it’s not that we are doing everything right. When we talk to various development partners, we find they hold very positive views about Bangladesh.”
Addressing auditors, the finance adviser said, “Auditing should not be confined to paperwork only. It must also verify the sources of funds and how they were generated.” He also remarked that some media outlets publish news which sometimes weakens the government or benefits fascist forces.
He urged journalists to focus on responsible, constructive, and fact-based reporting. “When we highlight the positive aspects, trust is built. But reckless reporting creates mistrust,” he said.
Salehuddin Ahmed praised the patriotism and dedication of many professionals working in both the public and private sectors and called upon the media and training institutions to establish more disciplined and stronger verification systems.
Finance Secretary Khairuzzaman Mozumder said, “The advice of economists and analysts is helpful in budget formulation. Last year, when the government was struggling with inflationary pressure while considering the type of budget to make, analysts suggested a contractionary budget. Initially, we thought of a larger budget, but on your advice, we prepared a comparatively smaller and more realistic one. The credit goes to you.”
FRC Chairman Md. Sajjad Hossain Bhuiyan said, “Efforts are being made to bring transparency in the corporate sector. The first document for financial transparency is the audit report. If the valuation of assets in the financial report is accurate, and if bank loans are given against those assets, then the bank will be able to recover the loans later.”
