Mahmudur Rahman

The title of this discourse is doing the rounds these days. Television talk show participants are beginning to talk about it. There have been a few oblique references in parliamentary debate. And legalising undisclosed/illegal income has been taking the centre stage in the engaging argument.

During the two years of caretaker government rule, there was a widespread belief that businessmen, politicians and individuals suspected of corruption had to pay through their noses to either prevent going to jail or to be released from it. Some of them were required to pay for not having cleared their taxes properly; others because the existing laws just didn't go far enough to make them pay "officially" and yet others to part with some of their ill-begotten income. There was also talk about how business persons were forced into offloading shares that they held in various ventures. Unfortunately, if this has happened, there is little redress in that the persons were, on the face of it selling their shares and no more.

The truth to such belief can only be established if the persons involved come out and make their case. Short of that, innuendos will achieve nothing. The huge sums of money realised by the government from abroad and paid in "fines" and such were deposited in a specific government account. One of the first issues raised by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to the Finance Minister was to decide what to do with this sum. This has not been stated publicly enough. How the money will be accounted for is also to be resolved. What action is to be taken against the persons concerned may be a distant third but still needs attention. After all, if as a businessman admitted, money has been paid to be released from prison it was either a fine or a bribe. In both scenarios there are laws that have been obviously violated. Such statements also tantamount to contempt of court because it is the court that orders a person's release whether on acquittal or on bail. Money should be no part of such a decision.

The sensational discoveries of international level graft and moneys in overseas accounts as usual made the headlines and then faded away. But what has happened to the huge sums that were to have been realised by the government in concert with the relevant authorities? What too has happened about the disclosure of assets and liabilities of the cabinet and even MPs as had been promised. Or is this no longer a priority?

Those who went to the Truth Commission made their peace but given that this too was found to be illegal, what happens to all the information and statistics? As for all the "disclosures" by junior employees in government utility services, has anything been done about that? Would such answers not help the government bridge the yawning gap between revenue income and expenditure?

Or are to really believe the ramblings of Mr. Bumble in Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist:"If that is the law, then the law is an ass". (The writer is a former head of corporate and regulatory affairs of British-American Tobacco Bangladesh and former CEO of Bangladesh Cricket Board. He can be reached at e-mail mahmudrahman@gmail.com)