4 metrorails could have been built with the money laundered by recruiting agencies: In light of the white paper

"The amount of money that has been laundered in the last 15 years is not only huge - it is horrific. About 13.4 lakh crore taka has gone abroad through hundis through recruiting agencies. Think about it, four metrorail lines could have been built in Dhaka city with this money. But what are we seeing? Expatriate workers are deprived of the opportunity of fair wages."

This information emerged in a report submitted to the chief advisor on Sunday afternoon at the chief advisor's office in Tejgaon in the capital under the leadership of Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya, a prominent economist and head of the White Paper Committee to investigate corruption in the economy.

Regarding irregularities in the banking sector, the report said that political influence was clear in the loans given by banks during the previous government's tenure. And this influence has further exacerbated the crisis in the banking sector.

It says that the amount of bad or distressed loans during the period in question is equal to the cost of building 14 Dhaka Metro systems or 24 Padma bridges. Continuous defaults and high-profile scandals have destroyed financial stability and diverted capital far from the productive sector.

The report says that the country's banking sector has suffered the most during the previous government's tenure. There have been incidents such as taking out loans anonymously, laundering money abroad and changing the ownership of banks by pointing a gun at their foreheads. As a result, the institutional good governance of the banking sector has dropped to zero, and now the entire country, including banks, is paying the ultimate price for this.

At the report handover ceremony, Central Bank Governor Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur said, "We are examining the health of the country's financial sector. In the future, defaulted loans will reach 25 to 30 percent, the health of the banking sector is in extreme crisis. The defaulted loan rate is now 12.5 percent, which will reach 15 percent in a month. We fear that it may exceed 30 percent. Half of these loans are from big groups like S Alam or Saifuzzaman. This trend has increased since 2017. They take loans from banks and launder them."

Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed, Principal Secretary Sirajuddin Sathi, Senior Secretary Lamia Morshed and others were also present during the handover of the white paper.