Financial Crime
What is a Financial Crime?
There is no internationally accepted definition of financial crime. Rather, the term expresses different concepts depending on the jurisdiction and on the context. In general, financial crime can refer to any non-violent crime that results in a financial gain to the perpetrators and loss to others or the state. It includes a range of illegal activities such as:
• corruption (bribery, speed money, kickbacks etc.)
• financial fraud (accounting, check, credit card, mortgage, insurance fraud, counterfeit notes, securities or investment fraud, computer fraud etc.)
• money laundering
• tax evasion
• circumvention of exchange restriction
• illegal cross border fund transfer or capital flight
• abuse of the financial system/institution etc.
Financial Crime in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is considered to be a safe heaven for financial crime. The relatively large informal economy compared to the formal one as frequently reported in various independent reports is a testimony of that. Hundi or a black market money exchange (also known as hawala) is the mode used for cross border fund transfers. The two major global financial hubs Dubai and Singapore are known to be the most popular centres for hundi settlements. A portion of the wage earners income is the primary source for financing all payments through hundis, while over-invoicing or holding of various commissions/fees abroad are also being discussed as sources. Our most prominent financial crimes are:
1. Corruption-
Abuse of public power or position for personal gain or for the benefit of a group to which one owes allegiance.
2. Tax evasion-
Remaining outside the tax net, non-disclosure of actual income, non-payment of income tax, underhand agreement with the tax authority, gross abuse of the tax holiday provisions may be mentioned under this category. The provision of payment of a low rate of tax that legalises any income without a need to declare source has been considered and
There is no internationally accepted definition of financial crime. Rather, the term expresses different concepts depending on the jurisdiction and on the context. In general, financial crime can refer to any non-violent crime that results in a financial gain to the perpetrators and loss to others or the state. It includes a range of illegal activities such as:
• corruption (bribery, speed money, kickbacks etc.)
• financial fraud (accounting, check, credit card, mortgage, insurance fraud, counterfeit notes, securities or investment fraud, computer fraud etc.)
• money laundering
• tax evasion
• circumvention of exchange restriction
• illegal cross border fund transfer or capital flight
• abuse of the financial system/institution etc.
Financial Crime in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is considered to be a safe heaven for financial crime. The relatively large informal economy compared to the formal one as frequently reported in various independent reports is a testimony of that. Hundi or a black market money exchange (also known as hawala) is the mode used for cross border fund transfers. The two major global financial hubs Dubai and Singapore are known to be the most popular centres for hundi settlements. A portion of the wage earners income is the primary source for financing all payments through hundis, while over-invoicing or holding of various commissions/fees abroad are also being discussed as sources. Our most prominent financial crimes are:
1. Corruption-
Abuse of public power or position for personal gain or for the benefit of a group to which one owes allegiance.
2. Tax evasion-
Remaining outside the tax net, non-disclosure of actual income, non-payment of income tax, underhand agreement with the tax authority, gross abuse of the tax holiday provisions may be mentioned under this category. The provision of payment of a low rate of tax that legalises any income without a need to declare source has been considered and