Govt must stop the capital flight: Getting back the laundered money not an easy task
23 June 2022
In
view of the global economic instability caused by the pandemic and the
Russia-Ukraine war, the proposed budget for fiscal 2022-23 has offered
an opportunity to bring back the laundered money home. The finance
minister has urged all not to oppose the decision arguing that this
money belongs to people, but the planning minister termed the decision
as "unrealistic".
It is clear from the planning minister's statement
at a discussion in the capital that, "Once money is smuggled out of the
country, it is almost impossible to get it back." Continuing, he
further said, "We have neither the legal process nor the power to bring
back the money deposited by the Bangladeshis in the Swiss banks." Why
did the government take such an impossible decision then? Rather, he
left the matter to the launderers' discretion by taking refuge in the
proverb "The devil would not listen to the scripture".
This clearly
means that the government itself knows that it is impossible to bring
the smuggled money back to the country. Instead, the planning minister
advised to pay attention to preventing the outflow of the money from the
country.
Economists and different trade organisations, including the
Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), the
apex body of traders, have strongly criticised the government's
decision for offering the amnesty facilities to money launderers. They
believe the country has entered a new height of whitewashing black money
with the opportunity to bring back the money laundered by paying only 7
per cent tax in this year's proposed budget. Through this opportunity,
they think, the launderers are being rewarded legitimacy. Even, they
termed this opportunity as unconstitutional and unlawful. Moreover,
there has been little response in decades from the launderers.
According
to Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington-based research
institution in the United States, about Tk 640 billion is smuggled from
Bangladesh every year in the name of business. While the report of the
Swiss National Bank said, last year the highest Tk 8,365 crore has been
deposited with various banks in Switzerland in the name of Bangladeshi
individuals and organisations.
When there is so much criticism
and doubt within the government about recovering the laundered money,
what is the rationale of the opportunity? To increase the revenue and
expenditure deficit in the budget, practical steps have to be taken to
increase the revenue. The government must come out of the impossible
hope of getting the laundered money back. Instead, it must focus on
stopping the capital flight.
