Economy in shambles for AL's looting, graft: Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today said Bangladesh's economy is now in shambles due to extreme mismanagement in the banking sector, rampant corruption, and money laundering.

Speaking at a press conference, he also said many local private banks, established purely on political considerations, are giving main focus on plundering public money instead of giving attention to banking.

BNP arranged the press conference at the party chairperson's Gulshan office on the state of the country's economy.

"It is completely a hollow economy. The economy is in shambles. In fact, they (the ruling party) looted the country's resources and siphoned off their money abroad," Fakhrul said.

Citing various statistics collected from the newspapers and other sources, the BNP leader claimed that about Tk 90,000 crores have been looted from banking and other sectors from 2009 to October 12, 2023.

"These people (AL leaders) have not made any new investment in the country. So, no new employment opportunities have been created here. As a result, the poor remain poor and the income disparity and inequality are increasing day by day," he said.

Fakhrul said because of the looting and corruption, two societies have been created in Bangladesh -- one is a very rich class of people who go abroad, wear expensive dresses, and use luxurious cars like BMW and Mercedes while the other is a class of people who struggle to manage their daily necessity.

The BNP leader, who used to teach economics before entering politics, said accountability is key to ensuring discipline in the financial sector and the rule of law in the country.

"Since the current fascist AL government has no accountability to the people, the country's economy, politics, culture, and the judiciary are not safe in their hands," he observed.

He bemoaned that it is very difficult for the economy to rebound due to unprecedented corruption and irregularities in the banking sector.

"Our economy is being destroyed because of the government's wrong policy and political weakness and all-pervasive-plundering. The latest example of it is unlawfully giving Janata Bank's Tk22,000 crore to a special quarter or willful loan defaulters under various names in political interests," Fakhrul said.

He said the biggest loan scam in the history of Bangladesh happened in Islami Bank as a big industrial group took a loan of Tk 30,000 crores from Islami Bank in the name of an anonymous non-existent fake company.

"But the group is eligible to take a maximum loan of Tk 215 crore. There have been reports in the media that this group has siphoned off at least one billion US dollars abroad," he said.

The BNP leader said looting money from banks in the name of loans is now the easiest thing in Bangladesh as some people take loans abusing the banking system and siphon off the money abroad without repaying loans for years using their political identities.

Stating that foreign banks usually come to a country where the economy prospers, he said though 13 local private banks have been established in Bangladesh since 2009, the foreign banks have not shown interest in working here.

Fakhrul voiced concern that inflation is growing while the import of necessary goods, raw materials, machines, and equipment is being hampered for lack of dollars, slowing down the pace of the economy.

He said the dollar crisis is becoming acute as the government and its illegitimate beneficiaries have turned the country into a haven of corruption, plundering, and siphoning off money abroad.