Money laundering in the name of bitumen import!
Business Desk | banglanews24.com
A huge volume of money is being laundered through over-invoicing in the name of bitumen import.
Analyzing the volume of bitumen import, quality and international market price, it was found that around Tk 14,000 crore has been laundered through over-invoicing in the name of bitumen import.
According to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), 42 companies imported some 19,661 tonnes of bitumen in the first nine months of the current fiscal.
The value of this imported bitumen was documented at Tk 1,110 crore brought under 346 consignments.
In an investigation, it was found that the imported bitumen has been unloaded from customs by declaring the product as 60/70 grade bitumen. Questions were raised over the quality of the imported bitumen by the experts as there is no reflection of the quality of bitumen in the roads.
The country s trade deficit widened moderately in the first nine months of the ongoing fiscal due to higher import growth, which is a sign that the economy is gradually recovering from its depressed state of affairs.
Between July and March, the trade deficit, which occurs when imports outweigh exports, stood at $14.49 billion, up 20.02 per cent year-on-year, data from Bangladesh Bank showed.
During the period, imports increased six per cent from that of a year ago to $42.76 billion while exports went up 0.06 per cent to $28.27 billion. Expanding the trade deficit is a good phenomenon for Bangladesh as the economy is largely as an import-driven one, said Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue.
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The number of these accounts also rose to 71,346 last year from 62,710 in 2019.
The Daily Star talked to a number of bankers, tax officials and analysts, who pointed out that there is a strong link between the deposit growth and the opportunity given to whiten black money.
They also referred to the reduced scope for laundering money abroad amid the Covid-19 pandemic and also cap on investment in national savings certificates.
In the current fiscal year, the government gave the opportunity to whiten black money by declaring undisclosed wealth and income in tax returns upon payment of only 10 percent tax on the undisclosed amount without any questions about the sources of income.
Health division spends only 26pc of ADP outlay
Representational image Rejaul Karim Byron Rejaul Karim Byron
Despite giving special focus on the health sector, the government could implement only 26 per cent of the sector s Annual Development Programme in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year. Out of the Tk 11,979 crore allocation against 53 projects, the Health Services Division could spend only Tk 3,050 crore during the July-April period. Most of the projects were taken for health infrastructure development projects. Of the 53, two coronavirus-related projects involving Tk 2,492 crore were taken in April 2020. The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) gave $100 million each for the two projects.