A total amount of Tk. 48.679 crore, mostly in foreign currencies, was seized by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation directorate during the period from July 2013 to September 2017 at the country’s land and air border points. Apart from Bangladeshi takas, the foreign currencies were mainly euros, US dollars, Indian rupees, Saudi riyals, Qatar riyals, UAE dirhams, Malaysian ringgits and dinars, according to the report of the Bangladesh Customs Intelligence and Investigation unit.
The Customs intelligence unit also nabbed 30 people on charges of smuggling. The intelligence unit nabbed them with foreign and national currency notes in their possession while they were smuggling these through the air and land border points of Bangladesh. A number of drives was conducted in this respect in conjunction with law enforcement agencies.
The arrestees and the seized currency notes have been regularly moved for action in line with the court procedures and anti-smuggling laws, said the authorities of the
intelligence unit. Incidents in which illegal currency was ferried and in which their couriers were nabbed were at a high from July 2013 to June 2015, totalling values respectively of Tk. 21.8 crore and Tk. 17.85 crore in the period July 2014 to June 2015. The figure started falling in the period July 2015 to June 2016, amounting to Tk. 6.58 crore.
The value was Tk. 2.19 crore during July 2016 to June 2017, according to the report of the Bangladesh Customs Intelligence and Investigation directorate.
The number of incidents of currency smuggling by couriers using border areas has apparently been reduced. However, experts and economists have alleged that despite the decreasing number of such currency seizures, incidents of smuggling have actually increased manifold through other routes and ways.
Dr Iftekharuzzaman, the executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, observed that though smugglers were being arrested in regular drives conducted by law enforcement agencies, the key criminals who control the racket from behind the scenes remain unseen. He urged law enforcement agencies to destroy these syndicates in order to bring the situation under control. Some positive changes have already occurred as the efforts of incumbent officials in Customs intelligence and the National Board of Revenue (NBR) are delivering results, ignoring pressure from various evil quarters, he added.
Mainul Khan, the director-general of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation directorate, claimed that after security was tightened and modern sensors installed to detect illegal transfers of currency, the main hurdle was the availability of skilled manpower in dealing with the menace of currency smuggling at the borders.
He added that their efforts over the past four years and, more importantly, the government’s stance to stop such crimes had brought about positive changes, instilling faith in the security system among the people.
Good relations with neighbouring countries and exchange of bilateral information, cooperation with different law enforcement agencies and the activities of Detective Branches have made the situation difficult for smugglers, he added.
The Customs Intelligence chief further claimed that he has received information that the intelligence unit has permanently closed some routes and rendered a considerable number of godfathers toothless following their relentless drive.
However, ironically, the flow of money laundering has not decreased but rather increased through different ways, according to statistics.
According to a World Bank (WB) report, smuggling is valued at around USD 1.5 billion annually at the India-Bangladesh border. In actuality, this amount is even higher. Besides, a portion of these funds also goes to Swiss bank accounts.
To bring in money from abroad into Bangladesh, one has to take permission from Bangladesh Bank and also the other way around. Because of that, no illegal currency can cross the border, but the reality is quite the opposite.
An amount of roughly Tk. 73,000 crore was trafficked from Bangladesh in 2014, according to the Washington-based research firm Global Financial Integrity (GFI) in May 2017.