EXPRESSING grave concern over the failure in taking proper actions against bribery in foreign trade, an international corruption watchdog has urged the Bangladesh government, foreign trade partner countries and other stakeholders to ensure rigorous anti-corruption measures in foreign trade and investment. Otherwise, it alerted the government would incur huge loses of various types, especially increased money laundering, due to lack of stern measures in international dealings.
The Berlin-based Transparency International (TI) in its 13th edition of Exporting Corruption report, titled Exporting Corruption 2020: Assessing Enforcement of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, on Tuesday globally said that time is ripe for the government and other stakeholders to stop corruption practices in all sorts of business and investment dealings with foreign entities. The opportunities have been amply created by the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), of which Bangladesh is a State Party.
Media report in national daily on Wednesday said that Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director Dr. Iftekharazzaman in a statement has termed as shocking that the biggest global exporters are showing the worst track records of compliance of their own pledges against foreign bribery. It mentioned China, Japan, India, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, Canada and Mexico as the poorest performers, though most of these countries are large trade and investment partners of Bangladesh. It also urged the diplomatic missions to take concrete actions against foreign bribery as they have committed under UNCAC and OECD (Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development) Convention.
Furthermore, it mentioned that around 47 countries reviewed are responsible for more than 80 per cent of world exports. From 2016 to 2019, these countries opened 421 investigations and 93 cases, and closed 244 cases with sanctions, including 125 with substantial sanctions. China, the world’s largest exporter, failed to open a single investigation into foreign bribery between 2016 and 2019, though Chinese companies have been allegedly involved in multiple scandals and investigations by other countries.
Certainly corruption has an in-built bias against the poor, disadvantaged and low-income sections of people.
In Bangladesh, corruption is the way of becoming rich the easy way. It is absurd to expect the government to think about checking foreign bribery. Bangladesh government does not need experts or knowledge for running the country. The government is comfortable by corrupting every sector of public life so all are quiet. The miseries of ordinary people’s lives do not matter.
