Editorial
Back to business as usual
What happened to Destiny probe report?
It appears that current government policy is to let money launderers off the hook with a mere slap on the wrist. How else does one explain the fact that the Destiny group is back in business? Astonishing as it may sound, the multilevel marketing company (MLM) is doing just that. According to Bangladesh Bank, the company has re-launched its operations with new bank accounts and under new stewardship.
We have written extensively on the Destiny scam. The probe committee formed last October found evidence on less than Tk200 crore that had been siphoned off Sonali Bank. The committee failed to trace an approximate Tk3,800 crore.
The probe committee made available its report to the government in October last year. Four months on, the authorities are yet to take action on the confiscation of the group's fixed assets. The recommendation was to dispose of the assets to compensate the thousands who lost their deposits when the scam was discovered. That decision remains pending. The question must be asked as to why the government is dithering on this issue. The enquiry headed by senior official of Bangladesh Bank found Tk5,132.46 deposited in hundreds of bank accounts. Again, thanks to the snail's pace in authorities' approach, it was found that Tk5113.95 crore had been withdrawn. In other words, the laxity of government agencies allowed for the withdrawal of practically all cash assets by the group's management.
The sedate pace taken by the Department of Cooperatives in formulating MLM laws is inexcusable. Equally unacceptable is the relaxed approach with which the government has moved to 'contain' companies like Destiny. Unless the authorities are willing to mete out exemplary punishment to those responsible, the string of scandals that has rocked the country's financial sector for the last few years will continue unabated; and we risk undermining the very foundations on which the sector is founded.
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