Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Monday called for expediting efforts to bring back billions of stolen money - both from the banking system and other means - as the government plans to frame a special law to fulfill legal requirements.
He made the call at a meeting held with the 11-member task force formed earlier in September last year headed by Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur and senior officials of the relevant department and agencies.
While briefing reporters at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital, Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said a law will be framed soon to facilitate the process of bringing back the stolen money.
Asked how the law will be framed in the absence of Parliament, the Press Secretary said it will be done through promulgating an ordinance as a set procedure.
He said the taskforce has already talked to around 200 law firms and it might go for agreements with around 30 internationally reputed law firms to facilitate the process.
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Alam said the selection process has not been made yet and it will be done through a legal process.
"It's a kind of highway robbery. It's the top priority of the government. The government wants to bring the stolen money back at any cost," Alam said, adding that the meeting lasted for around 90 minutes.
He said the new law is being made quickly, most probably by the next week, to expedite the efforts and make overall coordination smoother.
Alam said the Chief Adviser laid emphasis making best use of time and stressed that they should not waste a single day.
“There were efforts from the very beginning to bring the stolen money back as one of the top priorities as these are people’s money,” he said.
Referring to the white paper on the state of the economy, the Press Secretary said around USD 234 billion was siphoned off during Sheikh Hasina regime from 2009-2024 (August 5) and USD 17 billion from the banking system.
Alam said the government is working on 11 big companies and individuals, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her family members.
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The Press Secretary cited an example that an individual sent Tk 400-500 crore as tuition fees.
The meeting decided to go into further details of money laundering to know how it happened and where it has gone.
The Chief Adviser sought updates from all who attended the meeting and directed to put in best efforts to bring back money as quickly as possible.
Alam said such meetings will be held each month and the next meeting will be held after Eid.
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The Press Secretary said the interim government is in discussion with Malaysia and Singapore and Malaysia also wants to help Bangladesh in terms of asset recovery.
Special envoy on International Affairs to the Chief Adviser Lutfey Siddiqi who was present at the meeting, is also in discussion with Singapore as the interim government is trying to establish an “effective strategy” with Singapore.
Alam said the central bank governor will speak at a programme in the UK on March 17 on the need for the UK to support Bangladesh on asset recovery.
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Meanwhile, a half-day conference will be held on March 19 in London with the participation of international law firms, he said.
Meanwhile, Alam said, there will be a conference to be held in London early May with the support of the World Bank’s stolen asset recovery (STAR) initiative.
“These are very crucial to bring back the stolen money,” he said, adding that the interim government expects to recover some stolen assets by this year if they can make progress to that end.
Chief Adviser's Deputy Press Secretaries Apurba Jahangir, Abul Kalam Azad Majumder and Assistant Press Secretary Suchismita Tithi were also present.