Where are all the money launderers?

Money laundering has become an all-pervasive problem for Bangladesh, permeating all spheres, strengthening its ever-expanding roots, like a metastatic cancer. Around USD 12-15 billion is smuggled out of the country every year, according to Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman. This includes money laundered through trade misinvoicing and illegal remittance transfer, among other illicit mechanisms of money smuggling.

Little action is being taken by the authorities concerned to address this problem. At least, the recent submission of two lists containing names of money launderers to the High Court by the Bangladesh Bank and Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) suggests as much.

The list shared by the central bank and the BFIU contains names of 69 individuals and seven entities. The list submitted by the ACC contains the names of 61 individuals and entities. However, most of these names have already been exposed by the Panama and Paradise paper revelations and media reports over time.

The BFIU could only obtain information on 10 of the 69 individuals on its list through financial intelligence wings of some other countries, and shared it with the ACC and other agencies for further investigation. Now the question is: Why could they collect information on only 10 individuals—why not all 69 of the alleged launderers?

These lists of alleged money launderers have been submitted nearly one year after the High Court sought them. In the meantime, on four occasions, time extensions had been asked for. Is it too much to expect from these agencies to submit thorough and comprehensive information after spending almost a year on investigation?

The court, in its observation, asked the authorities to "supply the information, if any, collected from the foreign nations concerned under mutual legal assistance request, which was created to prevent money laundering among the signatory nations" (New Age, January 30, 2022).

In response, Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik said that for the government agencies, it was very difficult to gather intel on Bangladeshi citizens and organisations who have deposited money with foreign banks. One might be pardoned for asking: since the BFIU has access to intelligence sharing platforms—including the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units—why could it not capitalise on these advantages to gather and provide the High Court with detailed information on the money smugglers?

The ACC has said that it has been facing limitations in tracing the launderers along with the smuggled money, and had apparently requested information from the BFIU and the home and foreign ministries, but to no avail. Why? The foreign minister has shrugged off the responsibility, saying it's not the foreign ministry's job to find information about money launderers or their actions. Whose responsibility is it to gather such intel, then? Logic would say, the BFIU.

The lists submitted have exposed two major bottlenecks in our fight against money laundering: lack of synergy among the agencies that are supposed to be working together on the problem, and an apparent lack of ownership of specific agencies in delivering their work properly.

If we talk about specific agencies, we need to look at certain factors. Do these agencies have the right resources and logistical support to engage in intel gathering and carrying out investigations? Is there any form of lacking in their technical or institutional capacity which needs to be addressed? Or is it just a case of complacency or a lack of political will?

And why is there such a brazen lack of coordination? Are these agencies not working towards the same goal? Are they under pressure from any vested interest group?

It is baffling how so many responsible agencies have failed to provide concrete and comprehensive information on money smugglers whose names and faces we are familiar with.

"Money laundering is a complex and sophisticated crime.  More importantly, since those involved in money laundering are not only smart, but also usually privileged and powerful people, a right combination of political will, technical skill and multipronged collaborative efforts is needed to combat it. Thankfully, the national and international legal and institutional potentials to confront money laundering have become much stronger and systematic than before. That ensuring accountability for money laundering is not impossible was already demonstrated in Bangladesh, when a high-profile, politically linked person was held to account and laundered money were repatriated from Singapore. That being said, the relevant agencies mandated to prevent, control and prosecute offences of money laundering just need to have the will, courage and skills to go to the drawing board to track the process through which that success was achieved, and try to replicate the example in collaboration with each other. Whether or not there is sufficient courage and commitment to take money laundering head-on remains an open question," said Dr Iftekharuzzaman, while speaking to this writer on this issue.

Whatever obstacles our agencies are facing in tracing the money and the criminals need to be overcome for the greater well-being of the nation and our economy. The High Court has asked the BFIU to submit the names of Bangladeshi citizens who have deposited money in foreign bank accounts, including the Swiss banks. At the same time, the court has asked the ACC and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police to submit the progress report on the investigation into allegations of money smuggling against Bangladeshi nationals mentioned in the Panama and Paradise papers.

One hopes that the agencies concerned would rise above their individual agendas and challenges, and work as a team to fight this malady together. We cannot and must not allow criminals to plunder and loot the common people's money and get away with it, no matter who these individuals are, whatever their political connections are. Money launderers are criminals and must be brought to book as per the laws of the land. We must do all we can to support the High Court in its endeavour to hold these culprits accountable.

Tasneem Tayeb is a columnist for The Daily Star. Her Twitter handle is @tasneem_tayeb