Govt plans amnesty to back laundered moeny: Kamal

The government is planning to announce amnesty for money launderers to bring back siphoned off money back into the country, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has said.

“A scope would be kept in the upcoming national budget session to legalize the properties abroad by paying fixed amount of tax. Money launderers and owners of illegal assets abroad will not be questioned,” he told reporters after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase on Thursday.

The Finance Minister said that these initiatives are being taken to ease the existing dollar crisis in the country and bring back the laundered money.

The circular issued by Bangladesh Bank to bring for allowing up to $5,000 or Taka 5,00,000 inward remittance without documents is meant to bring back the smuggled money in the country, said the Finance Minister.

“Those who will send the smuggled money in the form of remittances will not be questioned. I hope that the money that smuggled abroad from the country at different times will back,” he said.

Mentioning that various countries of the world like Indonesia had offered various incentives to bring back the siphoned off money, Kamal said it was his firm belief that those who have siphoned off money abroad would avail the opportunity and thus send back money to Bangladesh.

He expressed hope that the people who laundered money will take advantage of the government’s amnesty as it is a good scope for them.

More to follow…