The World Bank reported that approximately $3.15 billion is illicitly transferred out of Bangladesh each year through offshore accounts.
Citing the State of the Tax Justice Report 2020, the World Bank stated that the offshore financial wealth of Bangladeshis is estimated at 0.7% of the nation’s GDP.
“Including losses from corporate abuse and offshore tax evasion, tax revenue losses are estimated at over $700 million,” the World Bank stated in its latest Bangladesh Development Update report published on 2 April. This amount equals 2.2% of the country’s total revenue income in fiscal year (FY) 2019-20.
In the Development Update report, the World Bank noted that illicit capital flows into offshore accounts from Bangladesh have been increasing.
Referring to the latest Global Financial Integrity Report 2021, the bank mentioned: “Between 2009 and 2018, as much as $3.6 billion on average per year has been laundered from Bangladesh through trade mis-invoicing.”
The World Bank highlighted that Bangladesh’s illicit capital outflow through offshore accounts is high compared to some of the country’s peer nations in its Development Update report.
Currently, Bangladesh ranks 54th among 133 countries in the Financial Secrecy Index, which assesses the extent to which a country’s tax and financial systems facilitate individuals in concealing their finances from the rule of law, according to the World Bank.
The bank further stated that Bangladesh ranked 44th globally and 3rd in South Asia in terms of illicit outflows through trade mis-invoicing.
