Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA) has lauded the government’s move to recover money that has been laundered from the country in the past years.
BEA, the apex professional body of the country’s economic and financial sector, in a handout, released on Monday, expressed to extend its all-out to the government’s efforts to halt the sources of money laundering.
BEA expressed its belief that as the highly efficient and knowledgeable economists are now at the helm of the interim government, they will successfully address the fundamental issues of black money, money laundering, and corruption, which have spread like cancer throughout the economy.
“The association is prepared to provide any necessary assistance to the interim government in its fight against black money, money
laundering, and corruption”, said the statement.
Since 2012, the association has consistently highlighted in its alternative national budget proposals that at least 3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is being laundered out of Bangladesh each year while this trend exacerbates multidimensional inequality and poverty while encouraging rampant corruption.
According to the Economic Association, in the fiscal year 2018-19, the amount laundered from Bangladesh is estimated to be at least Tk 75,734 crore, which constitutes 9% of the total black money created that fiscal year (841,419 crore BDT) and 16.3% of the national budget for the same period.
Over the span of 46 years (from 1972-73 to 2018-19), the total amount laundered from the country is estimated to be at least Tk 798,327 crore.
The BEA handout also mentions that “it is alarming and shameful for the nation to see such a significant portion of the budget, nearly one-fifth, being lost to money laundering while the government continues to rely on extensive domestic and foreign loans for budgetary support”.
Welcoming the interim government’s decision to form a task force to recover the laundered money, BEA emphasizes the need for an independent commission titled ‘Commission on Corruption, Black Money, and Money Laundering,’ as these issues pose a significant barrier to sustainable and prosperous economic development.
The detailed outline for this commission is included in the Bangladesh Economic Association’s alternative budget proposal for 2023-24, which calls for democratic budget measures to address inequality.
The commission’s primary responsibility would be to conduct thorough investigations and research into matters related to corruption, black money, and money laundering, with findings to be communicated to the public through print and electronic media every three months.
