Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and Leader of the Opposition Dr Shafiqur Rahman on Monday urged the government to take visible and effective steps to recover public money laundered abroad and bring those responsible back to Bangladesh, saying even one-ninth of the siphoned-off funds would be enough to eliminate the budget deficit in the upcoming fiscal year.
“Tk 28 lakh crore was laundered abroad over the 15 and a half years. But this budget contains neither any guideline nor any proposal on how that money will be brought back. If we can recover just one-ninth of the laundered money in the 2026-27 fiscal year through proper initiatives, there will be no budget deficit,” he said.
The Opposition Leader made the remarks while taking part in the general discussion on the proposed national budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal in Parliament.
Noting that the laundered money belonged to the people and must be returned to them, he said, “The assets must be recovered and the culprits must also be brought back to face punishment. If so, none will dare anymore to extend their black hand to plunder public assets in future.”
He warned that overlooking the issue would encourage creation of even larger financial criminals in the future. “We want to see visible and effective steps in this regard,” said the Jamaat ameer.
Dr Shafiqur urged the government to pursue all legal avenues, including signing necessary memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the countries concerned, to recover the assets.
“But the pace must be like that of a deer, not a tortoise, because the sooner the assets are recovered, the more the state and the deprived people will benefit,” he said.
Referring to the proposed budget, Dr Shafiqur Rahman said he would neither describe it as large, small nor medium-sized. “I would say the nation needs a budget that truly meets its requirements,” he said.
Though he expressed concern over the revenue target, he said the government could collect more revenue than the target set in the budget if it remained honest and demonstrated political will.
Drawing attention to the country’s tax system, he alleged that income taxpayers effectively paid three kinds of taxes.
“One goes to the state treasury, another ends up in the pockets of some dishonest people involved in the system, and the third goes to extortionists,” he said.
He said if taxpayers could be assured that they would pay only one tax - the one deposited to the government - they would be more willing to pay higher taxes voluntarily.
Shafiqur Rahman also said the government must build confidence among businesses by standing beside them during difficult times.
“If confidence is created among businesspeople that paying taxes is not a one-way tunnel, rather a two-way tunnel - that they pay taxes in good times and will receive support in difficult times - they will be encouraged to pay taxes in the same way businessmen do in developed countries,” he said.
