The country has lost $12-15 billion annually to money laundering over the past 15 years, while Bangladesh Bank has remained complicit by overlooking such activities, said Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) , today (November 2).

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), which was created to maintain transparency in the financial sector, has also been used to facilitate money laundering activities, said Iftekharuzzaman, who also heads the Anti-Corruption Reform Commission formed by the caretaker government. last month.

“It is possible to recover the laundered money from Bangladesh, but it will be extremely difficult. You can say it is almost impossible,” he said while addressing a seminar titled “Odious Debt and Recovery of Bangladesh’s Laundered Wealth”. in Dhaka.

The seminar was organized by the Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) and Sombabonar Bangladesh at the ERF office auditorium in the capital’s Paltan.

Iftekharuzzaman said, “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 the fundamental reform and revision of these institutions”.

“It is impossible to give an exact figure for how much money has been laundered from Bangladesh,” he added.

Regarding central bank governor Ahsan H Mansur’s recent remarks that tycoons linked to the ousted Sheikh Hasina government have obtained nearly $17 billion over the past 15 years, the TIB chief said the amount mentioned by Mansur could be based on money laundering data through the banking sector. .

But beyond this, money is laundered through fraud, foreign nationals working in Bangladesh, for visa and immigration purposes, mobile financial services (MFS) and other similar channels and through hundis, he said. “Overall, about $12 billion to $15 billion was laundered from Bangladesh every year.”

To recover the laundered money, the BFIU, the National Board of Revenue, the Criminal Investigation Department, the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Attorney General’s Office should work together, Iftekharuzzaman suggested.

“It also requires the honesty of the countries where the money was laundered. Mutual legal assistance treaties are needed. If we can recover even $100 million or a penny in the next two years, it would be a surprise,” he said.

Stressing the urgent need to hold financial criminals accountable, he said: “Money launderers must face consequences and anti-money laundering agencies should be held accountable to prevent future incidents.”

Iftekharuzzaman noted that although the government has initiated efforts to reduce financial crime, stronger support from civil society and political platforms was needed to develop a sustainable anti-smuggling system.

He also acknowledged that the central bank has now stepped up its efforts to combat money laundering and recover laundered funds. “This should be turned into a sustainable system for the future.”

Iftekharuzzaman also pointed to conditional requirements imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) aimed at reducing loans to shell companies, but criticized the lack of action.

“Despite IMF conditions to stop lending to bogus and paper companies, the practice persists,” he said.

He added that Islami and other banks allegedly lost funds to paper-based companies in fraudulent schemes — a practice, he noted, that Bangladesh Bank has since acknowledged. Meanwhile, many legitimate companies that meet all the requirements struggle to get loans.

The keynote paper of the seminar was presented by Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, Emeritus Professor at the University of Western Sydney, Australia.

Other speakers included Professor Jasim Uddin Ahmed, former Vice-Chancellor, and Nayem Chowdhury, economist and founder of Astra Gattaca Oppenheimer in the US.