(News Credit en.prothomalo.com) Former Bangladesh Bank governor Mohammed Farashuddin said that when the interests of political power and economic power merge, many companies begin to resemble the East India Company. Already, 10 to 15 such ‘East India Companies’ have been identified in the country. They must be face punishment.
Farashuddin further said, it is not enough merely to confiscate the assets. These assets must be recovered and brought into the government’s accounts.
On Tuesday, at the “Monthly Macroeconomic Insights (MMI)” event organised by the private research organization Policy Research Institute (PRI) in Banani, Dhaka, former Bangladesh Bank governor Mohammed Farashuddin made these remarks as the chief guest. The program was chaired by PRI Executive Director Khurshid Alam.
At the beginning of the event, PRI’s Chief Economist Ashiqur Rahman presented a paper on the country’s macroeconomy for the months of July-August.
In his speech, Ashiqur Rahman raised the issue of the East India Company. He said, “We have created some East India Companies. These companies had brought Bangladesh’s economy to the brink of collapse. Therefore, if we cannot protect the independence and efficiency of institutions like the central bank, new East India Companies may emerge in Bangladesh again.”
During the event, Mohammed Farashuddin also spoke about the issue of freezing bank accounts. He said that freezing bank accounts is not necessarily a very good measure. “To maintain trust in the banking system, decisions in this regard must be taken very carefully,” he added.
Farashuddin said, “If the spouse or children of a corrupt person are independent of his wealth, then there is no reason to freeze their bank accounts. Yet this is happening, and I do not believe it will produce good results. It will reduce confidence in banks. I would advise the government to keep the freezing of bank accounts very limited. Out of the 10-15 corrupt individuals identified, it should be restricted to them only.”
Money laundering is still happening. Thousands of people have already left the country, and most of them have established permanent residences abroad beforehand. As a result, they continue to take money out of the country
Referring to large-scale corruption in the country under the previous government, Farashuddin said, “There is no doubt about that. But there is no reason for us to be discouraged. We must find our own path. I believe the current government has been on the right track so far. Therefore, policies must be adopted with courage. Bangladesh Bank must be strengthened, and increasing tax collection is of utmost importance.”
Regarding bank directors, Farashuddin said the sole role of a bank’s board of directors is policy-making. Yet Bangladesh is the only country where they are encouraged merely to give loans. He recommended separating the loan issuance process from the board’s policy-making activities.
What other speakers said
What others said
Kamran T Rahman, President of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), said that while Bangladesh’s economy remains stable, the pace of growth has slowed. Investment in the private sector is well below expectations, and inflation continues to be a major challenge.
Rizwan Rahman, former President of the Dhaka Chamber, said, “No country can completely stop money laundering. But our failure lies in not being able to control it. Money laundering is still happening. Thousands of people have already left the country, and most of them have established permanent residences abroad beforehand. As a result, they continue to take money out of the country.”
Khandakar Sakhawat Ali, Visiting Research Fellow at BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University, said that to prevent money laundering and establish economic good governance, Bangladesh Bank must be allowed to operate with genuine independence. He added, “Those who are laundering money today are part of our civil society. It must be clearly stated why the state is unable to stop this.”