Bangladesh in search of Tk 2tn laundered during Sheikh Hasina regime

The governor of Bangladesh Bank, Ahsan H Mansur, has reportedly sought help from authorities in the United Kingdom to recover money laundered to the country by members of the Sheikh Hasina government.

According to a report in the London-based broadsheet Financial Times, the governor had a meeting with the British high commissioner in Dhaka at his office, and the latter offered significant technical support in this regard.

The new administration in Bangladesh is investigating if the Sheikh Hasina regime diverted at least Tk 2 trillion abroad, particularly to the UK, the US, Singapore, and the UAE, from the country's banking system.

“We will seek help from the UK government to the extent these assets can be recovered,” the governor told the Financial Times.

He specifically mentioned that they aim to identify the source of funds used to purchase a UK property portfolio worth £150 million, owned by a former minister in Sheikh Hasina’s cabinet.

The governor also expressed suspicion that the top leadership in Bangladesh might have been aware of the issue, as “a heist of this order could not have taken place without the knowledge of the prime minister.”

In a press conference on 5 September, Ahsan H Mansur made similar remarks about money laundering and announced that the process to bring back the laundered money had been initiated.

He stated, “The corrupt people mainly laundered money to Dubai, Singapore and the US. We have already communicated with the US to bring back their foreign assets.”

The governor particularly highlighted money laundering to the UK, noting that a family of smugglers owns 500 to 600 homes in the country. “We will try to acquire their local assets and then we will bring back their foreign assets.”

Before the last parliamentary election in Bangladesh, anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) revealed that a particular minister had more than Tk 23 billion in investments and business ventures overseas.

This minister was later identified as former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury. It was discovered that he had opened companies in the name of his wife, Rukhmila Zaman, and daughter, Zeba Zaman.

According to a Prothom Alo report on 13 August, former minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury and his wife Rukhmila Zaman Chowdhury had amassed substantial wealth and property in the United States and Dubai too.

They have huge sums of money deposited in foreign banks. Neither Saifuzzaman nor any member of his family have taken permission from Bangladesh Bank to take money abroad, giving rise to questions about this huge wealth amassed overseas.