Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed on Tuesday hinted at possible changes in the budgetary proposal regarding the whitening of black money in the 2025–26 fiscal year.
“We are not claiming that we did a great job by allowing the opportunity to whiten black money. Sometimes such decisions are made out of compulsion. We will look into the matter,” he said while responding to a question at the post-budget press conference held at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium.
He explained that the provision in the proposed budget is meant to legalize money earned legally but not disclosed for various reasons.
“This issue has two aspects: one ethical and the other practical. We will consider both,” he said.
He acknowledged that bringing back siphoned-off money is a difficult task, as those involved are highly intelligent and use complex layering systems to hide the funds.
He noted that the process takes time.
In this context, he referred to former Philippine president Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, saying it took 18 years to recover his illicit assets, and to Nigeria, where it took 20 years.
“We have said from the beginning that it will take time. But we have started the process,” he added, stating that it would have been easier to formulate the budget if the laundered money could be brought back.
The adviser also said it would be more convenient for him if he had greater access to internal resources such as tax and VAT revenues.
“If we can make the country corruption-free and bring back the siphoned money, we would not need budgetary support from the IMF and the World Bank,” he said.
He also remarked that the Bangladesh economy is now on the "highway," having left behind the "muddy roads."