Editorial Desk :
It is no surprising news that the transfer of money from Bangladesh to foreign lands is increasing unabatedly. Even when the Covid-19 pandemic was raging and people’s physical communication from country to country came to a halt, this trend of capital flight continued from Bangladesh. According to a report yesterday, funds deposited by Bangladeshi nationals and banks increased hugely in 2021 than the previous year. Just the Swiss banks have seen a whopping 55 per cent, or 871 million Swiss francs (CHF), rise during the time. Of this money, according to the Swiss National Bank, CHF 844 belongs to different banks and the rest to individuals. In 2021, when countries had been under stricter lockdown capital flight from Swiss banks was CHF 563 million (about Tk 5,215 crore).
Before that, there was indeed a decline in the rate of transfer of money. This means that during the time of the pandemic, many rich people in Bangladesh became not just panicked about their lives, but worried about the safety of their money, much of which must be ill gotten also. From two other countries of the subcontinent, India and Pakistan, capital flight has also been a regular trend.
For an illegitimate government to remain in power, here in Bangladesh, it has often encouraged corruption and made opportunities for rich men to make more money through rich-friendly economic policies. Due to lack of legitimacy, the government here does not have the necessary moral strength to curb corruption and the subsequent capital flight offshore. Sometimes, we indeed see the government taking steps against corruption and money-laundering, but this is only eyewash.
Against the huge negative public opinion, recently the finance minister in his budget speech for the fiscal 2022-23 has proposed an amnesty to undisclosed assets or cash stashed in foreign shores. Offering an option to legalize laundered money paying15 per cent tax shows the
helplessness of the government. Though this proposal of amnesty is “ethically unacceptable”, the economists expressed doubts that it could encourage more flight of wealth than bringing money back into the country.
Under a corruption based government, money laundering has become easy. Such black money which is illegally obtained is kept outside in various banks in foreign countries. The men who make easy money quickly forget that they will not be able to enjoy the illegally extorted money as easily as they think. When the question of legality of such money will be raised, money will not be easily released to them. Those foreign banks will be profited and their people will be the gainers till the cases are disposed of. This is how sucking the money of our country benefits the other countries.
Any change of the government, these men and women will experience how easy it will be to punish them. In any case, to get back the people’s money will not be easy either. Flight of the huge money to foreign countries indicates that corruption has also increased in the country.
