Kazi Zahidul Hasan :
High-ranking figures from the government, regulatory bodies, banks and law enforcement agencies will sit together in the inaugural meeting of an inter-agency national task force to discuss ways and means to bring back siphoned off money and tackle the financial crime.
The meeting will be held today (Monday) at the Office of the Attorney General in Dhaka.
Recently, the government reconstituted the taskforce to make its anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing efforts more effective and time-befitting.
“It will be the inaugural meeting of the reconstituted task force and it expects to discuss and analyse information and intelligence reports to detect, prevent and disrupt money laundering and wider economic crime that has already posed a serious threat to Bangladesh economy,” a member of the task force told The New Nation yesterday.
He said the task force is a ‘significant’ body formed to bring back siphoned off money and address the money-laundering and terror financing issues through the multi-group approach.
Money laundering costs the country around US$7.58 billion each year, with a significant proportion of this money being moved through trade misinvoicing.
The government intelligence agencies have so far revealed that corrupt people siphoned off money to the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Britain, Singapore, Hong Kong and Philippines.
Besides, a number of Bangladeshis invested illegally-earned money in Malaysia under the ‘Malaysia My Second Home Programme’.
Sources said the government has information that about 3000 Bangladeshis, mostly politicians, businesspersons and government officials, have made huge investment in ‘Malaysia My Second Home Programme’.
“We will discuss the issues thoroughly and review intelligence reports on the cases of smuggled off money so that the task force can ask for mutual legal assistance from the countries concerned on priority basis to bring the money back,” said the task force member.
He said the government agencies are now investigating the off-shore investments by the Bangladeshis whose name appeared in the list of Panama Papers and Paradise papers
“If illegally-earned money is invested there, the government will take action against the persons and move forward to bring back the money,” he added.
He also said that necessary punitive actions should also be taken after proving into alleged involvement of illicit fund transfer as reported in the second home scheme in Malaysia and Begum Palli in Canada.
