Bangladesh Jewellers Association leaders on Saturday alleged that around Tk 73,000 crore is being siphoned off every year as the inflows of gold smuggling are on the rise in the country.
They claimed that a huge quantity of gold enters Bangladesh through illegal channels, of which 25 percent remains out of reach of the law enforcement agencies. It leads to siphoning off Tk 73,000 crore every year, the association said during a press conference at Bashundhara City Complex in Dhaka this noon.
The President of Bangladesh Jewellers Association (BAJUS), Enamul Haque Khan, while addressing the press conference, said Bangladesh is now being used as a safe route of gold smuggling and the propensity of smuggling gold through the channel is very high now.
Gold worth Tk 200 crore enters Bangladesh illegally every day through land, air and waterways and it is smuggled out of the country at the same time, Enamul said, calling upon the government to take an immediate step to stop the spate of the illegal gold business.
A tight vigilance on all entrance points is needed and the law enforcement agencies can form a strong monitoring cell involving the BAJUS leaders to get rid of the situation, Enamul said.
“We think the anti-gold smuggling activities will be strengthened if the authorities accept our recommendations,” he said.