Flagging interest to bring back ill gotten money stashed away abroad?

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Indeed, the recovery of such resources of one of the world's poorest countries has been a source of outrage to its people the majority of whom are not affluent and lead a simple a simple and honest life of modest means. They would certainly be very pleased to learn that stolen money of the state or state's resources would be recovered and spent on their welfare and the country's development.
The amount of smuggled resources is also not expertly guess-estimated to be a small one. It was expertly calculated that such smuggled resources would be so vast that their substantial recoveries could lead to an yield that would be enough to meet the entire expenditures of two consecutive national budgets. Thus, there should be every incentive to work spiritedly for the recovery of such resources as the same would be a big boost for the national economy.
More than a year ago it was observed by a minister that the process of recovering of such monies is fraught with many frustrating procedures and blocking factors. The minister's words of caution were realistic and nothing irrefutable. But the nation would like to have more faith in the additional statement he made at that time that his government remained steadfast in its aim and actions to get back the pilfered money.
This is exactly what the nation wants to hear from those in charge of government today. If the resolve is there and if it is deep enough, then results would follow notwithstanding the slow pace of the same. Under the immediate past government an equivalent of Taka 3.5 billion was recovered . This was not a bad start as no other government in the past could do this.
If the incumbents in power maintained the enthusiasm, gradually a great deal of the resources could be recovered by now. It is notable that the international climate is seen to be improving in favour of such recoveries of resources. Even without so much helpful international cooperation, other countries have scored notable successes in bringing back their transferred resources. For example, $ 1 billion of the former first lady of the Phillipines was brought back and some $ 3 billion of resources to Indonesia pilfered by ex-strongman Suharto. Billions of dollars of the African dictator Abacha were also returned. Therefore, hope is there also for Bangladesh. The greatest need is staying determined in the course all the way. Furthermore, capacities of our investigation bodies to specifically determine which resources were smuggled out and that these had origins in Bangladesh, these capabilities must be improved at the soonest for the purpose.
A new international move has created opportunities for developing countries that have suffered from transfer of their national resources abroad by members of corrupt regimes and dictators, to have their resources returned. The new initiative is called the Stolen Asset Recovery (STAR) programme. The STAR initiative started by the World Bank, in partnership with UNODC will help developing countries recover assets stolen by corrupt leaders. It is designed to build institutional capacity in developing countries, strengthen the integrity of financial markets, assist in the asset recovery process, and monitor the use of recovered assets. "This initiative will foster much needed cooperation between developed and developing countries, between the public and private sectors, to ensure that looted assets are returned to their rightful owners," said the Secretary General of the United Nations while the President of the World Bank stood by his side during the launching of the STAR programme.
One hundred and forty countries had signed the STAR convention with 92 ratifying it as of November 2006. Half of the G8 countries excluding Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan have ratified it and 13 of the 54 jurisdictions classified by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as Offshore Financial Centers (OFCs) have also ratified it.
Previous efforts to recover stolen assets were largely on bilateral basis. In some countries, there was no framework for repatriation making it possible to only freeze and not return such funds. But the STAR initiative has profoundly changed the scenario and Bangladesh and other countries stand a good chance of benefiting a great deal by relying on it and using its facility intelligently and competently.
Bangladesh of course has to first establish that monies of Bangladeshi origin flowed out of Bangladesh to make claims on the same. Doing of these things efficiently and coping successfully with the legal requirements and tangles in the host countries, may be looked at as hurdles. But the same are not impossible to overcome. If the government makes determined efforts without wasting time and remains tenaciously engaged in the course, then very significant positive results can be expected. This optimism is borne out by the STAR initiative. Bangladesh authorities must utilise fully the opportunities that have been created by it to get the results.