The Anti-corruption Commi-ssion (ACC) perhaps knows better than anyone else what it has actually gained by interrogating Mr. Musa bin Shamser, a self-styled Bangladeshi billionaire businessman, allegedly, involved in illicit international arms trade.
But the ACC action has offered the macho billionaire a free-of-cost media exposure and an opportunity to show the power of his affluence in public. Surrounded by 30 private security personnel Mr. Musa, attired in very expensive clothes and gears, told the media his story--- how the Swiss banks have frozen his deposits worth $7.0 billion!
The ACC quizzed Mr. Musa last week on suspicion that he has accumulated a huge volume of personal wealth through foul means and transferred the same abroad.
However, the suspect in question has dismissed the allegation, boastfully claiming that his all earnings are genuine and no Bangladeshi would be able to acquire wealth equivalent to his in next 50 years.
Mr. Musa, often dubbed a 'prince' is a 'mystery man'. Though he is described as a fabulously rich man, he does not have any tangible asset. A few actions of his in the past had given rise to both controversies and inquisitiveness. He was once deeply engaged in the recruitment of local manpower for Middle Eastern countries.
The ACC is unlikely to squeeze out anything, finally, from Mr. Musa, maybe, for lack of evidence or his connections with powerful quarters.
However his appearance before the ACC investigators coincided with the publication of a report, prepared by the Washington-based Global Financial Integrity (GFI).
The report revealed that more than $13 billion had flown out of the country illegally between the years 2003 and 2012 and there was a threefold increase in the illicit outflow of funds in 2012. The highest amount had been transferred in 2006 ($2.66 billion), followed by $ 2.44 billion in the next year.
In fact, the picture, in terms of illegal outflow of funds from the country is likely to be grimmer as far as the year 2013 is concerned. The Swiss central bank in the middle part of this year had released data that showed a 62 per cent increase in deposits from Bangladeshi clients of Swiss banks. The amount stashed by Bangladesh nationals in these banks was not that big compared with the deposits made by nationals of our two neighbouring countries---India and Pakistan.
Switzerland is not the only safe havens for funds transferred illegally. There are many others. There was a time when ill-gotten money used to be mainly deposited with the Swiss banks that were infamous for maintaining strict secrecy. But the situation has changed of late because of growing international pressure. The Swiss banks have been opening up albeit slowly.
Since the flow of funds from Bangladesh to Swiss banks has increased in recent years one has enough reasons to believe that the same has happened in the case of other destinations.
The increased outflow, naturally, indicates to the fact that the volume of ill-gotten money has been on the rise in recent years and the owners of the same are more interested to transfer it to the so-called safe havens.
However, the flight of capital usually increases during uncertain times, politically. The flow gained momentum in 2006 and 2007. After a lull, it has again picked up, lately.
The people who transfer wealth, accumulated through legal and illegal means, abroad include powerful politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen. The illegal outflow of funds, on the one hand, deprives the country of revenue, in terms of tax, and contributes to the shrinking of resources necessary for investment in productive sectors.
All these are known facts. The government, law-enforcing agencies, anti-graft watchdog and the central bank are aware of the rise in the flight of capital. The top notches of the organizations concerned do very often make promises in public to initiate actions to stop or reduce the illegal flow of outbound funds. But their actions hardly match with promises. So, the flight of funds in different forms has been taking place unabatedly.
One of the widely used routes of capital flight is the import of goods, capital machinery in particular. Millions of dollars are usually transferred through over-invoicing of imports. All the relevant agencies are aware of this age-old practice. Such transfer can largely be reduced through strict monitoring by the banks and the Customs officials. But they are not interested. Banks do not want to lose the clients and Customs the extra bucks.
The ACC seems to be too sensitive to graft related observations or statistics dished out by international anti-graft watchdog bodies such as the Transparency International (TI). And it is not prepared to accept or admit its own failures in its 'war' against graft. Barring the 'recovery' of a small amount, allegedly, belonging to the son of a top opposition politician, the ACC has nothing to show to his credit as far as the curbing of the flight of capital is concerned. However, curbing the capital outflow is a multi-dimensional job. One organization alone cannot do it. It has to be the work of a coordinated team the members of which do need to work with utmost honesty and sincerity.
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