Dhaka, July 22 -- Bangladesh loses US$16 billion annually through trade-based money laundering alone for policy leniency and lax regulation of trading operations, reveals an official outfit's study and prescribes preventives.

Despite having strong policy frameworks to help combat trade-based money laundering (TBML), the country remains significantly exposed to illicit financial outflows due to their inadequate enforcement and systemic challenges, says the study report published Tuesday by the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM).

The report, titled 'Enforcement Status of the Standards to Prevent Trade-Based Money Laundering', which was presented at a roundtable at the BIBM office, says approximately 75 per cent of domestic mon...