The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has been asked to submit to a parliamentary panel a report on Bangladeshi citizens' wealth stashed abroad as part of a current move to prevent money laundering and terror financing.
Officials said the parliamentary standing committee on the ministry of finance at a recent meeting asked the NBR to place the report in its next meeting.
The parliamentary committee discussed the matter that many wealthy people of the country had siphoned off a hefty amount of money abroad and invested in different sectors.
The money was siphoned through illegal channels as well as kept abroad as business proceeds and now being brought in the country for allegedly financing terrorist activities.
"Yes, we discussed the issue and asked the NBR to submit a report about the wealth of Bangladeshi citizens kept in different counties," chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on finance Dr Abdur Razzak told the FE.
He said a significant volume of money was being sent abroad illegally or kept there from export proceeds. "We think the money is now being used for financing terror activities in the country by bringing it back."
"We've heard that many Bangladeshi rich people have bought homes abroad, and invested in different sectors. But they did not take the money out from the country through legal channels. This is totally a case of money laundering which needs to be stopped," Mr Razzak said.
A senior finance ministry official said that, until now, the current account is not convertible in Bangladesh and so none of the Bangladeshi citizens is allowed to take money out in a big volume.
"The central bank only gives permission on case-to-case basis for sending money abroad for investment, considering their viability and necessity," he said.
Mr Razzak said the parliamentary committee suggested that the NBR should be given more power to help curb money laundering and terror financing.
The revenue board has been asked to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Anti-Corruption Commission in line with the one signed by the central bank with the watchdog. Â
The revenue-board chief said the NBR needs to be further empowered to make the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012 effective.Contacted regarding preparation of the report on Bangladeshi nationals' wealth abroad, Mr Rahman told the FE that steps would be taken once the minutes of the meeting reached him.
In a recent report the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists disclosed that at least 16 Bangladeshi clients had 31 accounts in a Swiss subsidiary of the HSBC (Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation).
The Swiss National Bank in a report titled 'Banks in Switzerland: 2013' last year said the deposits by Bangladeshi citizens with various Swiss banks rose by 62 per cent to $414 million in 2013 from $245 million in 2012. Â
   syful-islam@outlook.com
Parliamentary body seeks info from NBR
Syful Islam | Published: March 14, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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