Online Desk : Reiterating that about 15 new laws, including some amendments to the existing laws, will be passed in parliament in the next 6 months to prevent money laundering, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday said it causes him great pain when he sees corruption.

“You’ll see a substantial fall in corruption once those laws are passed by Parliament,” he said while briefing reporters about the decisions of the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase on Wednesday.

The finance minister said he feels the same pain as other people do when it comes to money laundering.

Mustafa Kamal said efforts are going on to detect money launderers. “Those who were identified were either sentenced to jail or put on trial. Trials are on,” he said.

He said there are two reasons behind money laundering -- some people do it looking for a better place to invest and some others do it out of their greed.

“If we can create a better investment environment, then those people will invest here instead of investing abroad,” he said.

Speaking in Parliament on June 7, he said there was a time when sand used to be imported in the name of cement and one product used to be brought in the name of another product. “Now under-invoicing and over-invoicing are hardly done. But I don’t say such things have stopped completely. We hardly see these things in the newspaper,” he added.

Kamal said he knows how such irregularities are committed but does not know who are doing these. “Once such things had happened due to inefficient systems and ineffective management. These things will have to be stopped completely.”

He said the government will frame new laws aiming to reform the systems in the financial sector. “We’ll enact new laws so that our banks and financial institutions can run their activities smoothly with responsibility. We’ll create the scope. I’m assuring you.”

Responding to a question, Mustafa Kamal today told journalists that Bangladesh will consider lending from its foreign exchange reserves to neighbouring countries if the returns in this regard are good.

UNB