Call to probe Bangladeshis named in Panama Papers

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has voiced concern over the names of Bangladeshis revealed in Panama Papers that published on the website of International Consortium for Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on Monday.Terming the Panama Papers leak as an example of pro-corruption scenario in national and international banking sectors, the anti-graft agency urged the government to take stern action against the Bangladeshi citizens involved in money-laundering and named in Panama Papers.“There’s no specific information about the people named in Panama Papers yet. But … against the backdrop of some recent international reports that reveal money is alarmingly being siphoned off, we urge the government to take steps to bring back the money through the Bangladesh Bank, Anti-Corruption Commission, National Board of Revenue and Attorney General’s Office,” TIB executive director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said in a statement yesterday.Since Bangladesh is a signatory to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), it can take the opportunity of this legal instrument to bring back the money through bilateral negotiations with the countries concerned, and legal and technical assistances, said the TIB chief.The Panama Papers are 11.5mn leaked documents that detail financial and attorney-client information for more than 214,488 offshore entities. The leaked documents were created by Panamanian law firm and corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca.Meanwhile, the names of more than 50 Bangladeshis, including ruling Awami League leader Kazi Zafarullah and his wife Nilufer Zafarullah, have appeared in the Panama Papers and Offshore Leaks investigations.The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published the searchable database on Monday, stripping away the secrecy of nearly 214,000 offshore entities created in 21 jurisdictions. The ICIJ said in a statement, “There are legitimate uses for offshore companies and trusts. We do not intend to suggest or imply that any persons, companies or other entities included in the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database have broken the law or otherwise acted improperly.”“Many people and entities have the same or similar names. “We suggest you confirm the identities of any individuals or entities located in the database, based on addresses or other identifiable information.”The Panama Papers have already shaken the world with the names of global leaders and celebrities in them.In the Bangladesh section of the documents published on Monday, Zafarullah and wife Nilufer have been named as shareholders of Pathfinder Finance Limited and Hanseatic Limited in the British Virginia Islands.Mobile-phone operator Citycell chief executive officer Mehboob Chowdhury, who had once worked for Grameenphone, has been named.IGW operator Cel Telecom CEO and former GP and Citycell executive Kafil HS Muyeed, broadband company AccessTEL owner Zain Omar and wireless Internet provider Qubee’s owner Afzalur Rahman have also been named.The names of Bangla Trac owner Aminul Haque, and his sons Nazim Asadul Haque and Tarique Ekramul Haque have appeared in the leaked data. So has that of former foreign minister M Morshed Khan’s brother-in-law Azmat Moyeen.The other Bangladeshis named in the database are yet to be identified.