Banks have begun efforts to recover assets allegedly siphoned abroad by 42 companies identified as loan defaulters.
They are trying to recover assets held overseas under various names and use the proceeds to recover defaulted loans.
To this end, banks are entering into agreements with eight international legal and professional consulting firms.
Bangladesh Bank senior officials held a meeting today, Sunday, with representatives of 38 banks that had provided loans to these companies.
The information emerged at the meeting, according to responsible sources present there. The meeting was held at Bangladesh Bank.
Managing directors of the relevant banks attended the afternoon meeting, chaired by Bangladesh Bank Governor Mostaqur Rahman. Banks that have not yet signed agreements with the eight international legal and professional consulting firms for recovering assets abroad have been instructed to complete the process quickly.
During the tenure of the interim government, investigations began into allegations of bank looting, money laundering, tax evasion and various irregularities and fraud involving the family of ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and the country’s 10 leading business groups.
Now, a fresh initiative has been taken to recover defaulted loans by tracing assets held abroad by 42 companies.
The meeting was informed that under a “no win, no fee” arrangement, banks will not have to make any advance payments for the asset-recovery effort. The foreign firms will search for the assets entirely at their own expense. They will receive a portion of the recovered assets as their fees.
Who is on the list
After investigations began into the Sheikh Hasina family and 10 business groups, information on various companies was obtained for a second time from Bangladesh Bank’s Credit Information Bureau (CIB) database.
According to CIB data, 42 companies with more than Tk 2 billion in defaulted loans have been identified. Preliminary information indicates that they have assets abroad.
According to sources at today’s meeting, the business groups among which the 42 companies have been identified include SB Exim Group, Habib Group, Yasir Group, AWR Group, Liberty Group, Premier Group, Loskor Group and Saad Musa Group.
Eight major foreign firms have been assigned to trace the assets allegedly siphoned abroad by these companies. The eight international firms are Grant Thornton, R.I. Consortium, Baker McKenzie and PwC, DLA Piper and Kroll, EY and Dentons, Rahman Ravelli and Interpath, BCG and HHR, and Animus Associates.
Relevant Bangladesh Bank sources said preliminary information has been found indicating that money belonging to these 42 companies was siphoned to the United Kingdom, United States, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Belgium, New Zealand, Hong Kong, China, Thailand and Australia. Efforts are being made to recover the funds and assets from these countries.
After the meeting, Mutual Trust Bank Managing Director Syed Mahbubur Rahman told journalists that a huge amount of money had been siphoned out of the country. Banks are working to bring the money back. Steps are also being taken to ensure that such incidents do not happen again in the future.
Syed Mahbubur Rahman said that it is important to ensure that those involved in money laundering are punished. For this reason, steps are being taken to freeze their assets held abroad. Agreements have already been signed with foreign legal firms for this purpose. They will be provided with the necessary information.
What the central bank says
Regarding today’s meeting, Bangladesh Bank spokesperson and Executive Director Arif Hossain Khan told journalists that, based on information provided by the relevant banks, the contracted international investigative and legal firms are working to identify the location, nature and financial value of assets held abroad.
Once the assets are identified, steps will first be taken to freeze them through legal procedures in accordance with the laws of the respective countries. Subsequently, legal procedures will be completed to bring the proceeds back to Bangladesh through the sale or disposal of those assets, subject to court orders.
Arif Hossain Khan further said the initiative would not only help recover national assets that have been siphoned abroad, but also enable banks to recover their defaulted loans.