IMF cannot avoid responsibility for corruption in Bangladesh: Dr Anisuzzaman

Dr Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, special assistant to the Ministry of Finance (with the rank of State Minister), said that international lenders like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cannot deny their role in enabling corruption in Bangladesh.

“They gave loans despite witnessing corruption—why didn’t they impose governance conditions then?” he questioned, as per local media reports.

Speaking at a seminar titled "Current Challenges in the Banking Sector: Borrowers’ Perspective", held at the DCCI auditorium, Dr Anisuzzaman said Bangladesh has come out of an economic ICU thanks to divine blessings and a people's uprising that changed the government.

Otherwise, the economy would have collapsed, Dr Chowdhury remarked.

He also criticised the central bank for relying solely on interest rate hikes to control inflation, calling it a "paracetamol solution."

Citing China, Mr Anisuzzaman argued that inflation can be controlled through alternative policies without raising interest rates.