A parliamentary body yesterday expressed dissatisfaction at the way Bangladesh Bank and the Finance Ministry had managed the money laundering situation, saying they had not “done enough” as more money was siphoned off lately.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Finance Ministry formed a sub-committee with lawmaker Tipu Munshi as the convener and lawmakers Farhad Hossain and Md Sawkat Chowdhury as members to look into the matter thoroughly and monitor the insurance market.
“We are not satisfied with the input of the central bank and the ministry regarding the issue [money laundering]; from their presentations, it seems they have not done enough,” said Abdur Razzak, chairman of the standing committee, while talking to the Dhaka Tribune after the sixth meeting of the parliamentary watchdog.
“News reports have informed us about the large amount of foreign currency that has been laundered in the last few years. For the sake of our economy, we have to put an end to this as soon as possible,” he added.
About the sub-committee’s added responsibility of watching over the insurance sector, Abdur Razzak said: “There have been a lot of complaints that the insurance companies are not paying out their claims properly, so we have to look into the matter as well.”
The committee, however, was unable to formulate any terms of reference, or agree upon a timeframe for the sub-committee to complete its investigations.
Yet, about how the sub-committee will go about its business, Tipu Munshi informed the Dhaka Tribune that the chairman of the parliamentary watchdog will decide the terms of reference when necessary. He also said the sub-committee may venture beyond Bangladesh, if need be, in search of information about money laundering.
During the meeting, the Finance Ministry informed the standing committee that as Bangladesh had obtained the membership of the Egmont Group – an international finance intelligence unit – it will be able to collect information regarding financial irregularities from other member countries even if the two corresponding countries have no intelligence sharing treaties between them.
At the end of the meeting, the committee recommended that the interest rates on industrial loans be reduced.
The committee had discussed money laundering in its third and fourth meetings as well, and recommended tough protective measures.
In the third meeting, the committee had recommended proper legal action against citizens who have availed second home benefits in Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates. Further investigation into the sources of income and the legal history of this select group was also advised.
In reply, the ministry informed that the government has so far inked information-sharing deals with 27 countries, hence it has become easier to detect such businesspeople and their business entities.
