Around $13 billion smuggled annually from Bangladesh, says TIB
UNB
Publish: 02 Nov 2024, 05:16 PM
Dhaka,
Nov 2 (UNB) - Bangladesh loses approximately $13 billion every year to illicit
financial outflows, creating significant challenges in recovering this vast
amount, according to Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency
International Bangladesh (TIB).
He highlighted the issue
while addressing a seminar titled 'Odious Debt
and Recovery of Bangladesh's
Laundered Wealth', organised by the Economic Reporters' Forum (ERF) and Sombabonar
Bangladesh at the ERF Auditorium in Dhaka's Paltan on Saturday.
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."
He noted that while the
government has initiated efforts to curb financial crime, stronger advocacy
from civil society and political platforms is necessary to develop a
sustainable anti-smuggling system.
Reflecting on the recent
efforts by Bangladesh Bank (BB) and the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit
(BFIU), Dr Iftekharuzzaman said that in previous years, these institutions had
been accused of overlooking money laundering activities under autocratic
influence.
However, he acknowledged
that the central bank has now ramped up its efforts to tackle money laundering
and to recover laundered funds. "But this should be turned into a
sustainable system for the future."
Dr Iftekharuzzaman also
pointed to 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.
He added that Islami and
other banks had allegedly lost funds to paper-based companies in fraudulent
schemes - a practice, he noted, which Bangladesh Bank has since acknowledged.
Meanwhile, many
legitimate companies fulfilling all requirements struggle to obtain loans.
The seminar's keynote
paper was presented by Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, Emeritus Professor at Western
Sydney University, Australia.
Other speakers included
Professor Jasim Uddin Ahmed, former Vice-Chancellor, and Nayem Chowdhury,
economist and founder of Astra Gattaca Oppenheimer in the USA.
The programme was
moderated by a senior journalist and former editor of the Daily New Nation.
END/UNB/AI/SAM