Finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed on Tuesday said that the interim government had failed to curb extortions that upped the prices of essentials in Bangladesh.
He also revealed that a portion of the stolen money abroad was expected to be brought back by February.
The finance adviser鈥檚 remarks came while talking to reporters at his secretariat office.聽
He admitted that the extent of extortion had gone聽 up in the country after August 5, 2024.
On August 5, 2024, the Awami League regime was ousted amid a mass uprising, paving the way for the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus to assume office on August 8, 2024.
Noting that extortion has increased to Tk 1.5 from previous Tk 1 in the current regime, the finance adviser said that curbing extortion without political commitment and the political government was impossible.
He also said that many new parties had engaged in extortion after August 5, 2024.
Besides, the parties which were active in rent seeking before August 5, 2025 have still been active, he said, revealing that many extortionists were members of business organisations too.
The finance adviser said that extortion caused prices of essentials to spiral though his ministry was not responsible for controlling their prices.
The finance adviser who talked to reporters at his ministry for about half an hour said that the interim government would be able to recover by February a portion of the money smuggled out of the country during the AL regime.
He, however, did not disclose the amount.
About $234 billion was siphoned off from Bangladesh between 2009 and 2023, according to the white paper on the state of the economy.聽
As per the paper, the laundered money was sent to -- or routed primarily through -- the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and India as well as a number of tax havens.
The finance adviser said that the interim government had been giving high priority to 10 to 12 cases and medium priority to around 200 cases linked to smuggling of Tk 200 crore each.
Discussions with many legal firms have been going on, he said, hoping that a portion might be recovered by next February.
He also said that they were doing the groundwork for recovering the other portions.
