Begumpara has thus become a ‘forbidden paradise’ for rich Bangladeshis abroad. No one has the slightest sympathy for the Begums and Sahibs of Begumpara because they have taken this decision voluntarily, they are actively involved in money laundering.
The Prime Minister recently told the National Parliament that approximately 14.9 million Bangladeshi immigrants are currently living in countries around the world. So we can say that the number of Bangladeshi immigrants in various countries around the world is around 15 million. It is difficult to calculate how many of these are working. Only a few million of them are immigrants with their families, the majority of whom live in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, France, Germany and other countries in Europe, as well as Malaysia.
I could only cover a small portion of these estimated 15 million Bangladeshi immigrants in my investigation and research on ‘money laundering’. The number of these money launderers will not exceed a few thousand. These include corrupt civil servants, engineers, readymade garment factory owners, wealthy businessmen or commission-hungry politicians, and belong to the upper middle class, extremely wealthy and elite sections of the society.
It is not that they are forced to migrate abroad due to economic constraints. They are part of the ‘elite’ groups, but they also want to leave the country for more comfort and peace. The common characteristic of most of them is that they have ‘black money’ and, as owners of highly urbanized property, industries and business, they can access loans from banks in the country.
In my newspaper columns I consistently label him as ‘enemy number one of the state’. If they had sold their inherited property in this country and stood in line for immigration it would not have been fair to label them as enemies of the state. Or if they decided to move and live there using legally acquired life savings or money and assets accumulated through their investments, this would be above reproach.