Economists, bankers and businesspersons yesterday emphasised the need to form a strong and independent body to curb illicit financial flows (IFFs) and recover the money that has already been siphoned off from the country.
“The Bangladesh Bank (BB), the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the National Board of Revenue (NBR) cannot control illicit financial flows. Bangladesh needs a different independent body to stop flow of illicit money under the finance ministry, comprising economists, social scientists and bankers,” said a former adviser to the caretaker government of Bangladesh, Dr Akbar Ali Khan. He was addressing a discussion on ‘Illicit Financial Flows in the Context of Bangladesh’, organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), at BRAC Centre Inn at Mohakhali in the city.
It was moderated by the CPD’s distinguished fellow, Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya. A former adviser to the caretaker government, Dr ABM Mirza Azizul Islam, former BB governor Dr Farash Uddin, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) president Abdul Matlub Ahmad, former Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies director general Dr MK Mujeri, former finance minister M Syeduzzaman, former finance secretary Siddiqur Rahman, Policy Research Institute (PRI) executive director Dr Ahasan H Monsur, Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate director general Dr Moinul Khan, Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) joint director Abdur Rab, former Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) president Rashed Moksud Khan, senior Association of Bankers Bangladesh official Md. Nurul Amin, former BB deputy governor Md Ali Rume, Prof. Abu Ahmed and former National Board of Revenue (NBR) chairman Nasir Uddin also spoke at the programme, among others. CPD research fellow Towfiqul Islam Khan made a presentation on the topic. Dr Khan said people do not feel comfortable and secure keeping their money in Bangladesh as good governance is lacking here. “For this reason, people siphon off money to foreign countries, as they fear to keep money in Bangladesh,” he said, adding: “It won’t stop overnight.” “We emphasise the need to form a legal framework to resolve this,” he said.        
Mirza Aziz said flows of illicit money would not stop unless tangible punishment is meted out to those involved. He also said an environment of security and investment should be ensured to stop flows of illicit money. An environment for investment is particularly important to prevent money from being siphoned off from Bangladesh, he said. Dr Monsur said sometimes, flows of illicit money cannot be stopped by the law, pointing out that it occurs in developed countries, too. He said security and proper returns must be ensured to keep capital in the country. Siddiqur Rahman emphasised the need to identify the sources of illicit money. He also raised questions about foreign employees who encourage undeclared money.