BD needs \\\'legal instrument to have siphoned off money back\\\'

Though there is a growing trend of siphoning off money abroad, the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) is unable to take any concrete step to recover the laundered money deposited in the Swiss Bank by Bangladeshis due to lack of legal instrument. ‘We (Bangladesh) don’t have any agreement with the Swiss authorities in this regard. If an agreement is signed with the Central Bank of the Swiss government (Swiss National Bank), we’ll be able to take measures to bring the stolen money back,’ ACC commissioner M Shahabuddin said. He said the ACC has already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bangladesh Bank to deal with the money-laundering issue. ‘Bangladesh Bank should create a legal base by signing an agreement with the Swiss National Bank so that the laundered money could be recovered,’ the ACC commissioner said. According to the latest data of the Swiss National Bank, the deposits made by Bangladesh citizens at various Swiss banks have risen by 62 per cent year-on-year in 2013. The deposits stood at 372 million Swiss franc (Tk 32.36 billion) at the end of 2013 calendar year while it was Tk 19.91b in 2012, according to UNB.