Online Desk: BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday 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. “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 Tk90,000 crores have been looted from banking and other sectors from 2009 to October 12, 2023.

“These people (AL leaders) have no 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. Referring to a recent observation on the economy by Prof Rehman Sobhan of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Fakhrul said 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 beg and cannot manage their daily food–due to the growing inequality. “That is the reality.”

BNP arranged the press conference at the party chairperson’s Gulshan office on the state of the country’s economy. The BNP leader, who used to teach economics before entering politics, said accountability is the key to ensuring discipline in the financial sector and rule of law in the country. “Since the current fascist Awami League government has no accountability to the people, the country’s economy, politics, culture, and the judiciary are not safe in their hands,” he observed. In the current circumstances, Fakhrul called upon the people to participate in the ongoing movement for the restoration of democracy and for establishing a truly accountable democratic government in Bangladesh by holding a free, fair, impartial and participatory election under an impartial caretaker government. He said only a democratic and accountable government can salvage the ruined economy and the banking sector and establish sustainable development and the rule of law.

The BNP leader alleged that the ‘current illegal regime’ has completely destroyed not only politics but also the economy. “They (govt) are deceiving people by resorting to lies. They’re not only cheating the people but also the international organisations with a narrative that Bangladesh has become a role model for the development of third world countries,” the BNP leader said. 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.” 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 and 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 their illegitimate beneficiaries have turned the country into a haven of corruption, plundering, and siphoning off money abroad.