The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Police has brought 100 business firms under surveillance following preliminary probe findings on their involvement in money laundering, competent sources said.
According to them, these businesses used L/Cs as a tool of money laundering. The investigation has been launched following a tip-off from the central bank.
Officials concerned said the CID would soon send its investigation report to the Bangladesh Bank with a recommendation for taking stern action against the unscrupulous business persons.
"The law-enforcement agency has been observing a large number of business houses allegedly involved in financial crimes, including money laundering through letters of credit (L/Cs) on import of capital machinery and other goods," Ashraful Islam, special superintendent of the CID, told the FE.
He said in September-October 2014 the specialised wing of the police found more than 100 business houses involved in economic crimes like money laundering, and over-and under-invoicing.
Cases of money laundering, hundi, over-and under-invoicing have increased significantly in recent times, the police official observed.
Absence of proper monitoring and lack of punishment are being seen as factors encouraging the tycoons to stash their money away through such conduits. Â
According to him, most of the companies involved in such acts are using fake addresses for 'opening letter of credits (L/Cs)' for doing money laundering.
Mainly, capital machinery imported under duty-free facility by some export-oriented industries, showed prices inflated over 60 per cent of the real prices.
The inquiries conducted by the intelligence unit have found out such machinations that are depriving the country of revenue worth millions of taka.
The CID team has investigated more than 350 L/Cs in last one year on allegation of laundering-in the wake of reported capital flight and investment of huge amounts of money in so-called 'second-home' countries by the moneyed Bangladeshis who feel concerned about security of their accumulated wealth.
Experts blamed lack of proper monitoring and punishment for the surge in capital flight.
The managing director and CEO of a private bank-who is well in the know-listed a variety of wrongdoings in the monetary underworld.
"Money laundering and economic crimes, especially siphoning off money, misappropriation, and withdrawal of money from other persons' accounts through forgery, hundi trading and making counterfeit foreign currencies have marked a significant rise," he said.
He adds: "Fresh investment almost halted but import of capital machinery has increased in recent times, casting a doubt about it."
Trends of violating financial laws are seen more in the cases of joint-venture companies (JVCs) compared to that of the locally-owned companies, he said.
The opening of L/Cs for import of capital machinery increased by 19 per cent in July-August period of the current fiscal year (2014-15) over the same period of the last fiscal year (2013-14 ), the central bank figure showed.
The value of L/Cs opened against capital machinery stood at $510.66 million and settlement stood at $476 million during the period.
In the corresponding previous period, the figures were $428 million and $380 million respectively, according to the Bangladesh Bank (BB) data.  Â
Dr Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh, smells a rat in a sharp fall in new investment or reinvestment on the one hand and, on the other, an increase in the import of capital machinery.
"It means there is something wrong," he draws the inference from this paradox.
He said: "The country's financial market is not showing any sign of new investment. So it can be speculated that some people are getting involved in financial crimes or siphoning money in the chaotic political situation."
He said that financial crimes are done taking the advantage of the loopholes in the existing laws.
"Mainly capital machinery imported under duty-free facility by some export-oriented industries shows inflated prices more than 60 per cent than the normal prices," Dr Mansur added.
Asked about such a hiatus, President of the Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) Abdus Salam Murshedy said, "Few unscrupulous businesses may be involved in money laundering but the rest of the industries are just fighting to survive when entrepreneurs fighting with many of problems, including shortage of infrastructure."
He said the government has to take stern action against those guilty businesses for whom the whole business circle is being ashamed.
According to the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012 "money laundering" covers all kinds of methods used to change the identity of illegally obtained money so that it appears to have originated from a legitimate source.
A money-laundering scheme will therefore usually involve a combination of several different techniques and vehicles, which may not necessarily involve the conventional financial sector.
Accountants, lawyers, real-estate developers, precious metals and precious stones dealers and trust and company service providers are all known to have been employed in money-laundering schemes worldwide.
shahalamnur@gmail.com
Â