Does govt really want to identify money launderers?

In the parliament on 28 June in 2014, the government firmly assured the countrymen of sending a request letter to the Swiss government seeking the list of depositors. At the same time, steps will be taken to bring back the laundered money from the Swiss banks. This promise has been renewed by the government every year since then.

Different statements started coming to the fore in 2016. Former finance minister late Abul Maal Abdul Muhith on 11 July issued a statement in the parliament under the section-300, saying that the reports of money laundering in Swiss banks are actually exaggerations. Later, current finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said in the parliament, targeting the opposition members, that “I do not have the list of people who laundered money. If you know the names, give these to us.”

Lastly, at the post-budget press conference on 10 June this year, the then governor of Bangladesh Bank, Fazle Kabir, said, "We have received no information that someone has laundered money from Bangladesh and deposited it in Swiss banks."

So it seems that the government has actually backtracked gradually on the issue of money launderers, including those who deposited money in Swiss banks. Why did the government’s retreat trigger so many discussions?

A specific answer was found on Wednesday when the Swiss ambassador in Dhaka, Nathalie Chuard, talked about the issue. The ambassador said there are allegations that most of the money deposited by Bangladeshi nationals in various banks in Switzerland is amassed illegally. But the Bangladesh government is yet to seek any specific information from the Swiss banks or relevant authorities.

She came up with the statement at a discussion – DCAB Talk – organized by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at the National Press Club.

According to the annual report of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) released in June, 2022, the amount of money deposited by Bangladeshis in various banks in Switzerland stood at Tk 82.76 billion at the end of 2021, up by 55 per cent or Tk 9.28 billion from Tk 53.48 billion deposited in 2020.

Regarding the issue, Nathalie Chuard said, “We have informed the government what needs to be done to avail information, but we are yet to receive any request for any specific information. We are committed to maintaining international standards. Such information sharing is possible based on the consent of both sides and it needs to be done. We are working with Bangladesh on this.”

She also said the Swiss National Bank provides the information on annual deposits made by Bangladeshi nationals and it is quite impossible for them to say whether the money was earned illegally or not.

So, it is evident from the statement of Nathalie Chuard that Bangladesh has never made arrangements to get any information from the Swiss bank, let alone bring the money back.

We know that some 121 countries are receiving information of depositors from the Swiss banks. In fact, there is an international framework for receiving information from the Swiss banking system, called the Automatic Exchange of Information (AOI), which has been in place since 2017.

Under this framework, if someone deposits money in a Swiss bank by evading taxes in their home country, the Swiss banks are obliged to provide information on their deposits. However, Bangladesh is not on the list of 121 countries.

So the question is - does the government really want to know the names or information of the money launderers? The only government action made so far on money laundering is a gazette notification issued on 8 August.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) said in the notification that the laundered money can now be brought home through banking channels with a tax of 7 per cent.

In other words, there is no punishment for money laundering; no action against the launderers; rather the government is doing nothing except for the policy of providing benefits to the launderers. All that remains is speech, nothing else.