Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), today said Bangladesh has lost US$12-15 billion annually due to money laundering during the immediate past Awami League-led government.

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

Iftekharuzzaman said this while addressing a seminar titled ‘Odious Debt & Recovery of Bangladesh’s Laundered Wealth’, organised by the Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) and Sombabonar Bangladesh at the ERF Auditorium in the city.

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.

However, he acknowledged that the central bank has now ramped up its efforts to tackle money laundering and to recover laundered funds.

“But 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 criticised the lack of action.

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

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

The seminar’s keynote paper was presented by Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, Emeritus Professor at Western Sydney University, Australia.

Other speakers included Professor Jasim Uddin Ahmed, former Vice-Chancellor, and Nayem Chowdhury, economist and founder of Astra Gattaca Oppenheimer in the USA.

-BSS.