BB, US treasury dept probing cases of money siphoned off Bangladesh

Bangladesh Bank (BB) and the US treasury department are investigating the cases of money being siphoned out of Dhaka by corruptionists, said Bangladesh Ambassador in Washington DC Humayun Kabir.
He said the amount or the persons involved however cannot be identified since the secrecy act in the US is very strict, reported News World yesterday.
The news agency was citing Kabir's interview with Bangla Patrika, a Bangla weekly published from New York.
The central bank is working to bring back the money from the US, he added.
Asked if Interpol has any red alert issued against any Bangladeshi holed up in the US, the envoy replied in the negative.
Queried what made him go to the airport to receive former premier Sheikh Hasina in Boston when usually the second man or the deputy chief of mission does that, he said whatever he did was on orders from the government.
Turning to Bangladesh economy, he said the investment growth in Bangladesh now is more than that at any time in the past. The drive against corruption and economic, social and political reforms will have a long-term positive impact on the economy.
Referring to New Partnership for Development, a bill tabled in the Congress, he said if it is passed, the country would benefit immensely from it. Especially, it would make it much easier for the garment products to gain duty-free access to the US market.
"The amount of readymade garment export to the US now stands at $3.2 billion, but as we have to pay $532 million in taxes we continue to lag behind in the competition," he said.
Huge opportunities have been created for the country to export seafood to the US, Kabir said, adding that presently the export of seafood items totals $250 million.
"There are, however, debate over the use of child labour and working conditions in the seafood and garments factories," the ambassador told Bangla Patrika.
Bangladesh embassy in the US is planning to organise road shows in some states of the US to showcase export products.
It is also trying to bridge the gap between Bangladesh and the new generation of expatriate Bangladeshis in the US, he added.