Money siphoning, graft make a large dent in economy: BNP

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) alleged on Friday that the country's economy has been depleted by unbridled corruption and siphoning off money abroad by the ruling class and mismanagement in the banking sector as well.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir came up with the observation while mentioning the country's economic scenario during the last 15 years at a press briefing at the party chairperson's Gulshan office in the capital.
"The country's economy has been depleted. In real term they (the ruling class) have looted the country's assets and sent those to abroad," he alleged.
Citing information from the media and other sources, he said Tk900 billion has been looted from the banking and other sectors from 2009 to October 12, 2023.
"The ruling class people don't have any investment here (Bangladesh). No new employment opportunities have been created. That's why the poor remain poor and income disparity among the people has been widening day by day," he stated.
He said, "The economy of the country has reached a point of no return."
Quoting Centre for Policy Dialogue's (CPD) observations, he said two categories of society have been created in the country.
One category is super rich people's who travel abroad frequently and purchase expensive attires, luxurious items and others and ride on expensive cars like BMW and Mercedes.
On the other hand, it is common to see another category of people begging at traffic signals in the posh areas like Gulshan of the capital as they cannot afford to manage their daily meal and this is today's bitter reality, he said.
"This dismal economic scenario of the country has not been created in a single day; rather it has long been under the cover of the so-called development activities of this illegal government- the real picture which has now started appearing," Mr Fakhrul remarked.
He claimed that the real scenario of the country would be more disappointing and dangerous.
Referring to the liquidity crisis many banks are facing, Mr Fakhrul said due to this crisis many banks are desperately trying to borrow from other banks.
Citing a Bangladesh Bank report, he said liquidity has reduced to Tk39.09 billion (Tk3,909 crore) which was Tktwo trillion and 34.35 billion just one year back. He added Shariah-based five banks have failed to keep Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR).
And considering the security of deposited money, many depositors have withdrawn their money, he mentioned.
He said many banks due to liquidity crisis could not even honour Tk0. 1 million cheque to their depositors.
The senior BNP leader (Fakhrul) further said it has become a tendency to loot money in the name of taking loan if anyone has power and link (with the ruling clique).
He also said, "An economist of the country labeled those people who were busy with making fortune by siphoning off money abroad as 'national enemies'."
"The ruling class people have been sending money to foreign countries by taking loans through misuse of the banking system," he alleged.
"The economy of the country has become unprotected and fragile. The foreign lenders and investors could no longer trust on the faltering economy of the country," he said.
The country's economy could not rise steadfast due to corruption and irregularities in the banking sector, he commented.
He said the economic strength of our country is decaying due to the government's "week policy, political weakness and widespread plundering of public money".
He added a group of company using different names has taken Tk 220 billion (Tk22,000 crore) from Janata Bank without following proper procedures with an intention to become loan defaulter.
He also said another industrial conglomerate in the country has also taken Tk300 billion (Tk30,000 crore) loan from Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd; whereas the company was entitled to take loan of only Tk 2.15 billion.
Quoting newspaper reports, he alleged that this group has siphoned off minimum US $ one billion abroad from the country.

talhabinhabib@yahoo.com