Staff Reporter :
Annually, between $12 billion and $15 billion was siphoned off from Bangladesh during the recent Awami League-led government, stated Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), on Saturday.
He noted that trade-based money laundering was one of the major methods used for this illicit activity, along with mobile financial services (MFS) and other similar channels, as well as hundi over the past 15 years.
He claimed that Bangladesh Bank remained complicit by overlooking such laundering activities under autocratic influence.
Dr Iftekharuzzaman made these remarks at a seminar titled “Odious Debt and Recovery of Bangladesh’s Laundered Wealth,” jointly organised by the Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) and Sombabonar Bangladesh at the ERF office auditorium in Paltan, Dhaka.
“There is no denying that Bangladesh Bank is primarily responsible for pushing the banking sector to the brink.
The culture that has developed in these institutions cannot be changed overnight.
There is no alternative but to fundamentally reform and overhaul these institutions,” he said.
He asserted that while recovering laundered money is possible, it is a time-consuming process.
To facilitate this recovery, he suggested that the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), the National Board of Revenue, the Criminal Investigation Department, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and the Attorney General’s Office should collaborate.
“The sincerity of the countries where the money has been laundered is also needed.
Mutual legal assistance treaties are necessary. If we can recover even $100 million or a penny in the next two years, it would be a surprise,” he added.
Dr Iftekharuzzaman emphasised the urgent need to hold financial criminals accountable, stating that “money launderers must face consequences, and anti-money laundering agencies should be made answerable to prevent future incidents.”
Regarding central bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur’s recent remarks that tycoons linked to the ousted Sheikh Hasina government siphoned off nearly $17 billion over the last 15 years, the TIB chief noted that the figure Mansur mentioned could be based on data concerning money laundered through the banking sector.
He added that Islami and other banks had allegedly lost funds to paper-based companies involved in fraudulent schemes-practices that Bangladesh Bank has since acknowledged.
Meanwhile, many legitimate companies fulfilling all requirements struggle to obtain loans.
Dr Iftekharuzzaman also highlighted the conditional requirements imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) aimed at curbing loans to fictitious companies but criticised the lack of action.
“Despite IMF conditions to halt loans to fake and paper-based companies, the practice persists,” he said.
The keynote paper at the seminar was presented by Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, Emeritus Professor at Western Sydney University, Australia.
Other speakers included Professor Jasim Uddin Ahmed, former Vice-Chancellor, and Nayeem Chowdhury, economist and founder of Astra Gattaca Oppenheimer in the USA.
The programme was moderated by senior journalist and former Editor of the Daily New Nation, Mostofa Kamal Majumder.