Bangladesh Bank has instructed commercial banks to enter into contracts with 12 international asset recovery and law firms to help bring back money laundered abroad allegedly by ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her family members, and 10 business groups.聽
BB governor Ahsan H Mansur gave the instructions at a meeting on Monday attended by over 30 banks鈥� managing directors.
The involvement of international firms is seen as essential, especially to tackle the legal, cross-border, and technical challenges of retrieving embezzled money from abroad, BB officials said.
Arief Hossain Khan, executive director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank, said banks have been directed to engage with the appointed international organisations to trace and reclaim funds allegedly moved abroad.
He added that banks may also, on their own initiative, liaise with firms already active in asset recovery, provided these companies agree to a contract. Once selected, these firms will review documentation and assess which assets can feasibly be recovered.
Omar Faruk Khan, managing director of Islami Bank Bangladesh, told 抖阴精品 that the plan is to repatriate funds through collaboration with international agencies.
Some banks will lead the process and coordinate with others. Once agreements are finalised with foreign firms, the recovery work will begin in earnest, he said.
Besides Sheikh Hasina and her family, the investigation list includes several prominent names 鈥� former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury鈥檚 Aramit Group, S Alam Group, Beximco, Bashundhara, Sikder Group, Nassa Group, Orion, Gemcon, Nabil, and Summit, according to BB officials.
These entities are alleged to have been involved in large-scale fund transfers and financial misconduct.
The interim government has so far seized foreign assets worth Tk聽10,451 crore linked to the business groups and Hasina family members, according to a Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit report.
The asset recovery operation, led by the Bangladesh Bank and other government agencies, targets wealth accumulated through alleged embezzlement, money laundering and abusing political influence.
Of the fund seized, courts have attached Tk聽6,097 crore in immovable properties and Tk聽4,354 crore in movable assets across several foreign nations.
The BFIU report stated that the UK鈥檚 National Crime Agency also seized $260 million in assets tied to Saifuzzaman Chowdhury and the Beximco Group.
Bangladesh government has seized domestic assets worth Tk 46,805 crore linked to 11 ongoing cases.
Joint investigation teams, each comprising officials from the Criminal Investigation Department, the National Board of Revenue and聽 the Anti-Corruption Commission, have been assigned to probe each group and Hasina鈥檚 family.
These teams are identifying assets, securing court orders, and coordinating recovery efforts under the leadership of the BFIU, officials said.
The amount of the defaulted loans of the 10 business groups climbed to Tk 51,663 crore, out of a total loan of Tk 3.56 lakh crore as of December 2024.
