BANGLADESH has registered a surge in suspicious financial transactions and activities during the tenure of the interim government, installed after the fall of the Awami League regime on August 5, 2024, which suggests that it has not done enough to contain money laundering. The most recent annual report of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit says that suspicious transactions and activities have increased by 56.41 per cent and such activities, particularly from banks, have grown by 23 per cent in the 2024-2025 financial year to 27,130 from 17,345 in the previous year. The agency explains the increase as the result of enhanced vigilance as many such events earlier went undetected. Greater political awareness, compliance and technological improvement have enhanced the capacity and it has shared 114 intelligence reports with investigative agencies and responded to 1,220 requests for information, which is 14 per cent higher than the previous events. 聽It is assuring that the capacity of the financial intelligence unit has improved and it can now report a grimmer but more realistic scenario of the money laundering situation.
But that is not enough. The government should find ways to arrest illicit capital flows. Over 15 years of the deposed Awami League rule, as recent media reports show, nearly $150 billion, equivalent to around Tk 17.6 lakh crore, was syphoned out, which is more than double the amount of the budget, the outlay of which is Tk 7.97 lakh crore. In this context, the interim government has taken a number of steps that include bringing shariah-based banks under their regulatory purview and seeking a list of cases from banks where there is suspicion of Tk 200 crore or more being syphoned off. The government has also involved international litigation firms and is working in collaboration with international bodies, including the Stolen Asset Recovery initiative, the US Department of Justice and the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre, to trace and repatriate laundered assets held abroad. However, the progressive increase in the number of suspicious activities suggests that the government has failed to systematically block the loopholes through which funds have been syphoned out.
The government should, therefore, take a multi-pronged approach to arrest the illicit capital flow. The inter-agency task force meant to repatriate money should have a road map and it should review the rules and regulations regarding default loans and habitual defaulters so that legal barriers do not become an obstacle to addressing money laundering and other financial crimes, especially in the banking sector. Improved capacity to report and detect suspicious financial activities is in no way enough to prevent money laundering.
