Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), on Saturday said that it is not possible to know exactly how much money has been laundered from Bangladesh. But, it is known that US$ 17 billion dollar equivalent of money has been laundered using formal channels like banks.
Based on various incidents, it can be estimated that money equivalent to US$ Tk12 billon to 15 has been laundered from Bangladesh annually.
He made these remarks at a seminar organized by the Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) in Paltan, the capital, on Saturday.
The TIB Executive Director said that for a long time, Bangladesh Bank and the central bank's financial intelligence unit, Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), have been instrumental in corruption and money laundering. Bangladesh Bank is the main culprit behind the abyss to which the country's banking sector has been pushed. In the current situation, there is no alternative but to fundamentally reform and reorganize these institutions.
The seminar was jointly organized by the Economic Reporters Forum (ERF), an organization of economic journalists, and Sambhar Bangladesh. ERF President Refayet Ullah Mirdha delivered the welcome speech at the event moderated by Greenwatch Dhaka Editor Mostafa Kamal Majumder.
Iftekharuzzaman said, irregularities, corruption and money laundering have been taking place for a long time through establishing a circle of power and capturing various institutions. In this case, the three-way nexus of politics, bureaucracy and business has played a fundamental role. Partyization has been practiced in all institutions for a long time; we have seen its ultimate form in the last 15-16 years. In this, political power has given authority to the bureaucracy and various agencies have been used to implement it. As a result, how much change can be brought about in these places is important. We hope that the change that will come will be sustainable.
