The effect of tax amnesty on anti-money laundering in Bangladesh
| Pages | 243-255 |
| Date | 06 May 2014 |
| Published date | 06 May 2014 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-04-2013-0011 |
| Author | Attiya Waris,Laila Abdul Latif |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & Finance,Financial risk/company failure,Financial compliance/regulation |
The effect of tax amnesty on
anti-money laundering in
Bangladesh
Attiya Waris
School of Law, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya and
Laila Abdul Latif
Litigation and Research Department, Rachier & Amollo Advocates,
Nairobi, Kenya
Abstract
Purpose – The article aims to rely on the global wealth chains theory to study the effect of tax amnesty
on anti-money laundering (AML) in Bangladesh. This theory is an analytical framework intended to
identify how wealth is repackaged and disguised to move it out of spheres of state oversight, regulation
and taxation. It introduces the law on AML in Bangladesh, pointing out the revised Financial Action
Task Force (FATF) recommendation that has expanded the scope of money laundering predicate
offences to cover both indirect and direct tax crimes and smuggling in relation to customs and excise
duties and taxes.
Design/methodology/approach – Interviews in Bangladesh and desk research.
Findings – There are some gaps in the scope of the offence, the coverage of predicate offences and the
types of property covered by the money laundering offence. There is also an absence of nancial
penalties available to effectively sanction legal persons. The current money laundering offences are
derived from the ordinance issued in 2008 by the caretaker government (2006-2008). The current act
contains detailed denitions of money laundering and property and a list of predicate offences and
sanctions for the offence. However, there are some gaps in the physical elements of the offence, and the
range of its predicate offences remains too narrow. Adding tax evasion to its list of predicate offences
will, given the history of money laundering in Bangladesh, aid in combating illegal transfer of assets
abroad and recovery of the same and abolish tax amnesty.
Originality/value – There is no paper that has analysed the linkages between money laundering and
taxation in developing countries, especially Bangladesh.
Keywords Bangladesh, Money laundering, Tax amnesty, Tax
Paper type Case study
Money laundering is called what it is because that perfectly describes what takes place —
illegal, or dirty, money is put through a cycle of transactions, or washed, so that it comes out
the other end as legal, or clean, money. In other words, the source of illegally obtained funds is
obscured through a succession of transfers and deals in order that those same funds can
eventually be made to appear as legitimate income.
Jeffrey Robinson, 1995
This paper was made possible through the Go4health and STEAL projects
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1368-5201.htm
The effect of tax
amnesty
243
Journal of Money Laundering Control
Vol. 17 No. 2, 2014
pp. 243-255
© Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1368-5201
DOI 10.1108/JMLC-04-2013-0011
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