DHAKA, Sept 19, 2024 (BSS) - Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) today urged the destination countries to take concrete steps to help Bangladesh return of laundered assets as part of their international commitments and responsibilities.

“The responsibility to prevent, control and bring back the laundered money mainly goes on the shoulders of Bangladesh . . .  But the responsibility of the destination countries to help Bangladesh bring back the smuggled assets is not avoidable,” TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said in a media release.

He categorically called for immediate freezing of illegal assets held by Bangladeshis in abroad for bringing back to the country.

The TIB executive director said the main destination and beneficiaries of most of the money smuggled out of Bangladesh are rich and developed countries as the media reported that most of the top political parties’ leaders deposed from the state power are owners of it (wealth).

 “The United Kingdom, the United States of America, Switzerland, some countries such as Canada, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, especially Dubai, and even many ‘offshore’ island regions have become attractive destinations for laundered- money from Bangladesh,” he added.

Iftekharuzzaman said all these money laundering destinations have powerful syndicates of highly skilled law firms, trust companies, offshore specialists, real estate agents, accountants, regulatory experts, banking and financial services firms, who use to make secret deals for money laundering.

“And over the years, these syndicates have made money laundering easier for traffickers. They create opportunities for profitable investments in real estate, banking and luxury goods while ensuring the safety of money launderers’ investments,” he added
In some cases, the TIB executive director said money laundering is done by taking advantage of the discrepancies in the concerned governments’ policies and for investments even in exchange for citizenship.

He said if there is no policy deficit, the lack of strict enforcement of the law helps create a “paradise” for facilitators of money laundering that encourages money siphoning off Bangladesh.

“TIB thinks that the responsibility of prevention and control of money laundering and its repatriation lie mainly on the shoulders of Bangladesh,” the TIB added.
However, it said the responsibility of the concerned countries or regions is not less where money has been invested smuggled from Bangladesh and thus played a role in economic development in those countries.

The TIB Executive Director called upon the governments of concerned countries such as the UK, the USA, Canada, the UAE and Singapore to provide Bangladesh all sorts of necessary cooperation to bring back the laundered-money, the TIB release added.