Money launderers to be revealed: Muhith

The National Board of Revenue is set to prepare a list of individuals who have been laundering money abroad, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said yesterday.

He, however, refused to give further details.

“It's a sensitive issue -- such activities are done in confidence. As a result, nothing further may be given about this,” Muhith told reporters when asked if the government would take similar steps against money launderers as India did.

The new Indian government led by Narendra Modi on Monday published names of more than 700 individuals who allegedly laundered money.

“You will know when cases will be filed,” he added.

Last week, NBR Chairman Ghulam Hussain said the tax authority is looking to gather information on Bangladeshis who have bought properties abroad.

The country's illicit financial outflows in 2011 were close to $1.17 billion, which was 78.5 percent of the Official Development Assistance that year, according to Global Financial Integrity.

The finance minister further said it is difficult to find out who have been siphoning off money. However, the government has tightened laws to seal the loopholes. For instance, the central bank has set up a unit at the NBR for surveillance on transfer pricing practices of multinationals and other corporates engaged in cross-border businesses.

Benefitting from the mutual information exchange and cooperation with different nations, Bangladesh recovered stolen assets from abroad in one case, and efforts are ongoing in two other cases, BB Governor Atiur Rahman said earlier this month.

When asked about the status on the two other cases that Rahman mentioned, Muhith said that the country will be able to recover the money in these cases with assistance from the same source that helped recover the stolen assets in the earlier case. Between 2010 and 2012, around $2.9 million was brought back.