ALLEGATIONS of terror financing against some local and international NGOs are nothing new. We had got report in the first month of this year that four Bangladeshi NGOs channelled Tk 73 crore, received in foreign aids, to militant outfits over the last one year. The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit had revealed the information quizzing eight people who were arrested on charges of instigating Rohingya refugees in guise of workers of an NGO named Small Kindness Bangladesh (SKB).
Bangladesh Bank earlier had identified that the NGOs which usually patronize extremists are based in Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and other Middle East countries. Some domestic NGOs are also doing the same. Apart from it, the big NGOs like Bangladesh Krishi Kalyan Samity, Rabeta Al-Alam al-Islami, Qatar Charity, Islamic Relief Bangladesh, Al-Furkan Foundation, Kuwait Joint Relief Committee, International Islamic Relief Organization, Hayatul Ighachha, Revival of Islamic Heritage Society, Tawhidi Noor and Al-Muntada al-Islami are still under surveillance of Central Bank and Intelligence Agencies.
The scale of investigation shows the depth of the intelligence capture of our security agencies. It shows that they are capable of decoding global fund transfers, a fact which helps them to figure out those people who remove illicit funds from Bangladesh to park them to foreign countries. These funds are always black money, whether earned legally or illegally. Country’s Intelligence Agencies must expand their scope of investigations to ensure that the world of financial crime is also thoroughly investigated.
Several local and international NGOs are now active in Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camps. Some of their activities are reportedly fishy. The authorities concern must remain alert so that they cannot play game with the fate of displaced Rohingyas. Dozens of Rohingyas recently arrested in Malaysia and Indonesia has been charged with terror-related activities. The vulnerable refugees may turn to terrorists if they get patronization from any quarter. Activities of all the NGOs must be transparent.
