$16b siphoned off annually during Hasina regime: Panel

A staggering US$16 billion, on average, was siphoned out of Bangladesh every year during Sheikh Hasina’s “corrupt autocracy”, leaving the country in a “state of plunder” when she fled in the face of a popular mass uprising, according to a panel tasked to prepare a white paper on the country’s economy.

The White Paper Committee submitted its report to Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus at his Tejgaon office in the capital on Sunday, stating that they were horrified by the level of corruption, plunder and statistical manipulation conducted by Hasina’s regime.

Eminent economist Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, the chair of the committee, led the delegation while submitting the report.

The chief adviser thanked the committee for doing a landmark, saying it should be published once it is finalised and be taught in textbooks in national college and university curricula.

Earlier, the interim government decided to publish a white paper highlighting the current economic situation.

Meanwhile, on 3 November, Transparency International Bangladesh Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said between $12 billion and $15 billion was siphoned out of the country every year over the last 15 years.

A historic document

Areas that were focused on in the white paper are public finance management - domestic resources, public expenditure (public investment, ADP, subsidies and debt), financing of budget deficit; inflation and food management - production, public procurement and public food distribution; external balance - export, import, remittances, FDI, foreign exchange reserves, foreign finance flow and debt; energy and power - demand, supply, pricing, costs and purchase agreements; private investment - access to credit, electricity, connectivity and logistics; employment - in-country and overseas, formal and informal wages, youth employment.

The chief adviser in his brief speech before receiving the White Paper said, “This is a historic document. It’ll show us the economy we inherited after the July-August mass uprising. The nation will benefit from this document.”

“Our blood curdles to know how they plundered the economy. The sad part is that they looted the economy openly. And most of us couldn’t summon the courage to confront it,” he said.

Even the multilateral agencies that monitor Bangladesh’s economy were also largely silent when this plunder took place, Prof Yunus pointed out, reports UNB.

Debapriya Bhattacharya, a top economist and distinguished fellow of the Dhaka-based think tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said they worked independently without any interference from the government.

“The problem is deeper than what we’ve thought,” he said, adding that the 30-chapter and 400-page White Paper will show how crony capitalism gave birth to Oligarchs, who controlled the policy-framing.

Project costs raised by almost 70% without analysing benefits

According to committee member Mustafizur Rahman, they examined seven large projects out of 29 with over Tk10,000 crore expenditure outlay for each. The total expenses of 29 large projects were $87 billion or Tk780,000 crore.

The estimated initial cost of the seven projects examined was Tk114,000 crore. The project costs were later revised to Tk195,000 crore by adding many components, showing an inflated land price and manipulating the purchase.

“The project costs were raised by almost 70% without analysing the cost benefits,” Mustafizur Rahman said, suggesting the start of special prosecution to try people who were involved in money laundering.

40% of money plundered by bureaucrats

Another committee member Prof AK Enamul Haque said in the last 15 years, over Tk700,000 crore was spent on the Annual Development Programme (ADP), and 40% of the money was plundered by bureaucrats.

Committee member Dr Mohammad Abu Eusuf revealed that the amount of tax exemption during the past regime was 6% of the total GDP of the country.

If it could be reduced to half, the education budget could be doubled and the health budget could be tripled, he said.

Another member of the committee Dr M Tamim said $30 billion was invested in power generation, and if the kickback was considered 10%, the amount would be at least $3 billion.

The report titled ‘Dissection of a Development Narrative’ will be made available to the public today.

At the ceremony, Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur, Principal Secretary Sirajuddin Sathi and Senior Secretary Lamiya Morshed were also present.

According to the White Paper, a total of 60 consultations were held - the White Paper Committee members met 18 times to plan and discuss their respective tasks; there were 22 specific policy-related consultations; 17 technical consultations and key informant interviews; and three public hearings outside Dhaka (Sylhet, Chattogram and Rajshahi). The full list of the meetings is provided separately in the report.

Preparation of the White Paper is, essentially, a transparency exercise that offers a candid view of the economy’s “ground zero,” it also pointed out.