TIB: Around $13b smuggled annually from Bangladesh

Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) said that Bangladesh loses approximately $13 billion every year to illicit financial outflows, creating significant challenges in recovering this vast amount.

He highlighted the issue while addressing a seminar titled ‘Odious Debt & Recovery of Bangladesh’s Laundered Wealth’, organized by the Economic Reporters‍‍` Forum (ERF) and Sombabonar Bangladesh at the ERF Auditorium in Dhaka’s Paltan on Saturday.

Dr Iftekharuzzaman emphasised the urgent need to hold financial criminals accountable.

He said: “Money launderers must face consequences, and anti-money laundering agencies should be made answerable to prevent future incidents.” 

He said that while the government has initiated efforts to curb financial crime, stronger advocacy from civil society and political platforms is necessary to develop a sustainable anti-smuggling system.

Reflecting on the recent efforts by Bangladesh Bank (BB) and the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), Dr Iftekharuzzaman said that in previous years, these institutions had been accused of overlooking money laundering activities under autocratic influence. 

He, however, acknowledged that the central bank has now ramped up its efforts to tackle money laundering and to recover laundered funds. “This should be turned into a sustainable system for the future," he added.

Dr Iftekharuzzaman also pointed to conditional requirements imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) aimed at curbing loans to fictitious companies, but criticized the lack of action. 

“Despite IMF conditions to halt loans to fake and paper-based companies, the practice persists,” he said. 

He added that Islami and other banks had allegedly lost funds to paper-based companies in fraudulent schemes – a practice, he said, which Bangladesh Bank has since acknowledged. 

Meanwhile, many legitimate companies fulfilling all requirements struggle to obtain loans.