New era | Bangladesh loses $13 billion annually to money laundering: TIB

Bangladesh loses around $13 billion every year due to illicit financial outflows, posing significant challenges in recovering this huge amount, said Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh.

He highlighted the issue while addressing a seminar titled Odious Debt and Recovery of Bangladesh’s Laundered Wealth organized by the Economic Reporters’ Forum and Sombabonar Bangladesh at the ERF Auditorium in Dhaka’s Paltan on Saturday.

Iftekharuzzaman emphasized the urgent need to hold financial criminals accountable, saying that “money launderers must face the consequences, and anti-money laundering agencies must be made accountable to prevent future incidents.”

He noted that while the government has made efforts to curb financial crime, stronger advocacy from civil society and political platforms is needed to develop a sustainable anti-smuggling system.

Reflecting on the recent efforts of the Bangladesh Bank and the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, Iftekharuzzaman said these institutions were accused in previous years of overlooking money laundering activities under autocratic influence.

However, he acknowledged that the central bank has now stepped up efforts to tackle money laundering and recover laundered funds. ‘But this must be converted into a sustainable system for the future.’

Iftekharuzzaman also pointed to the conditional requirements imposed by the International Monetary Fund to restrict lending to fictitious companies, but criticized the lack of action.

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

He added that Islami and other banks had allegedly lost money to paper-based companies through fraudulent schemes – a practice, he noted, that Bangladesh Bank had recognized.

Meanwhile, many legitimate businesses that meet all the requirements are struggling to obtain loans.

The keynote paper of the seminar was presented by Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, Professor Emeritus 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 United States.

The program was moderated by a senior journalist and former editor of the Daily New Nation.