I want to catch the defaulters: Finance minister 

Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali has stated his firm stance against loan defaulters, regardless of their influence or power.

"The International Monetary Fund has advised the government to reduce defaulted loans. We will take action against the defaulters accordingly. I want to catch the defaulters," he told reporters after a meeting with the IMF Executive Director Krishnamurthy Venkata Subramanian at the Secretariat on Sunday.

When reporters asked whether he would be able to take action against the defaulters who are "powerful", the finance minister said, "Actions are being taken against a former police chief [Benazir Ahmed]. Did he not have enough power?"

The government supports the court's actions against the former IGP, he mentioned.

The minister further said, "If there were any allegations of corruption against former Army Chief Aziz Ahmed, the military would handle his trial." 

He noted the IMF would release the third installment of the loan to Bangladesh in June.

'Govt to overcome forex crisis'

Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali also answered several questions from reporters regarding the upcoming fiscal year's budget.

"Controlling inflation, increasing foreign currency reserves, and boosting revenue collection are the main challenges for the upcoming fiscal year. Our economy faces several difficulties that need to be overcome, and various measures are being taken in the upcoming budget to address these," he said.

The finance minister also said that steps were being taken in the upcoming budget to fulfill the promises made to the people in the Awami League manifesto during the last national parliamentary elections.

He said the initiatives taken by Bangladesh to overcome the crisis of foreign exchange reserves have the support of the IMF. "The government will overcome the crisis. In particular, the deposit collection initiative through offshore banking will play a positive role," he added.

"Banks are offering 8.4% interest on offshore banking deposits. Many banks have already released the notification. It is expected that deposits will come from abroad through this initiative," the minister said.

'IMF happy with crawling peg' 

The minister said, "The dollar exchange rate is no longer a challenge. The IMF is happy with the crawling peg system."

Regarding increasing revenue, he said that the government is also taking initiatives to collect taxes from those who do not pay or evade taxes.

In response to a journalist's question about whether there will be an opportunity to whiten black money in the next financial year's budget, he said that there is no opportunity to say anything in advance about it. "Let's see; we will know in due course."

When asked how the budget will be, Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali said that the government has taken a contractionary approach in view of various situations, but expansionary thoughts are in mind. Initiatives on how to get back on track will also be included in the next budget, he said.

"The aim of the government is to ensure that goods and services are within the purchasing power of the people and to improve the quality of life," he said.

"People want to see the reflection of their hopes and aspirations in the budget; they want to see the reflection of the promises made by the prime minister to the countrymen. The budget will reflect the aspirations of the people and the promises of the Prime Minister," the finance minister added.