State-run commercial and specialised banks recovered Tk 3,152 crore of defaulted loans in the first nine months of fiscal 2016-17, Finance Minister AMA Muhith informed parliament yesterday.

Defaulted loans till March 31 amounted to Tk 41,401 crore while the number of defaulters, both individuals and organisations, stood at 202,623, he read out a scripted reply to lawmakers' queries.

The government earned Tk 44,449.28 crore from import of vehicles in the periods between fiscal 2009-10 and April this year, said Muhith.

There are 1513,253 income tax payers at present and they paid Tk 2,067 crore till May, he added.

BB HEIST MONEY

Bangladesh was yet to find $66.37 million of $101 million stolen from the Bangladesh Bank reserves, said Muhith.  He said $20 million was reimbursed from Sri Lanka to the Federal Reserve Bank, New York.

Of the $81 million that had gone to the Philippines, $14.63 million was deposited in BB's account in the Federal Reserve bank, he added.

Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, the finance and foreign ministries, Office of the Attorney General and Criminal Investigation Department of police are working together to realise the money, said Muhith.

Legal initiatives were also ongoing in the Philippines, he said.

The GDP growth in fiscal 2016-2017 will be 7.24 percent, while the country achieved an economic growth rate of 7.11 percent in fiscal 2015-16, Muhith said, referring to the data of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

The government is taking different steps, including the ones to boost industrialisation, employment, production and exports, to achieve the growth, he added.