United News of Bangladesh

The government is working to establish a dedicated fund to manage the seized and frozen money and shares of individuals who have embezzled funds through illicit means. This fund will be used to provide financial support to banks that have been affected by such looting, enabling them to repay their depositors. Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur said this while speaking at a press conference held at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital on Monday. He said the funds recovered from illegal activities outside the banking sector will be allocated for the welfare of the needy and poor people. Also present at the event were the Principal Advisor's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam and the head of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), A F M Shahinul Islam. Earlier in the day, a meeting was held at the Jamuna chaired by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, to review the progress of bringing back laundered money. Following the meeting, the governor spoke in the press conference. Responding to a question regarding his (governor) remarks that those who have laundered money from the country will not be able to live in peace, Dr. Mansur said, "I don't believe they are at peace. They are hiring top lawyers. We have heard that S Alam will spend three crore dollars annually on his lawyers. This is not a sign of being at peace.” Next govt should continue financial sector reform, bring back laundered money: Governor “Recovering money and being at peace are two different things. We have managed to disrupt their sleep. It will take time to bring back the money because it will proceed following legal procedures," he added. There are 11 teams under the inter-agency task force currently investigating allegations of money laundering against top 10 business groups and the family of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Updated information regarding this was presented at the meeting. The 10 industrial conglomerates outside of Sheikh Hasina's family under investigation include S Alam Group, Beximco Group, Nabil Group, Summit Group, Orion Group, Gemcon Group, Nasa Group, Bashundhara Group, Sikder Group, and Aramit Group. Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam stated, "Another indication that they are not at peace is that an additional 125 medium-sized irregularities, involving those who have looted more than Tk 200 crore, are coming under investigation. “We are working with 20 foreign legal firms. The terms of reference for the work with these institutions are now being finalized,” he pointed out. Press secretary further informed that immovable assets worth Tk 1,30,758 crore belonging to those under investigation have been attached. Additionally, US$ 164 million held abroad and movable assets worth Tk 42,614 crore have been seized. Governor Dr. Mansur emphasized that this government is the first to decide to form such a fund because the seized money and assets are already under government control. He said that the fund's operations could begin soon, and legal amendments would be made if necessary. Funds belonging to banks will be returned to the banks, while money embezzled from other sectors will be used for public welfare. Regarding the feasibility of this, governor explained that funds deposited in banks as savings will be easily accessible. In the case of Islami Bank, shares worth Tk 12,000 to 15,000 crore belonging to the S Alam Group have been frozen. These shares will be transferred to a strategic investor, and the proceeds will go to the bank, which will be used to repay depositors. Default loans rise to Tk3.45 lakh crore until December: Governor

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. EC invites applications from new parties for registration   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. 42,000 Bangladeshi expats seek voter registration abroad 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. More Efforts to Bring Stolen Money Back 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. Dr Yunus voices displeasure as 2 key projects remain stuck for 10 years 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.

The interim government has said they remain committed to accountability and justice, and will be working with partners around the world to return the stolen funds to the people of Bangladesh. "The theft of billions of dollars in public funds has left Bangladesh with a significant financial deficit," said the government in a statement issued by Chief Adviser's press wing on Tuesday night. The funds stolen from Bangladesh belong to its people, said the interim government, stressing that they will continue to work with their international partners to ensure that justice is done. Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus has already expressed the views of the vast majority of Bangladesh’s citizens. He said property and assets tied to stolen Bangladeshi funds, including those linked to individuals with connections to the previous regime, must be investigated thoroughly. "If proven to have benefited from embezzlement, we expect those assets to be returned to Bangladesh, where they rightfully belong." As Professor Yunus told The Sunday Times of London, Tulip Siddiq may not have entirely understood the source of the money and property that she was enjoying in London, but she knows now and should seek forgiveness from the people of Bangladesh. Read: US welcomes Interim Government’s steps toward election readiness The interim government is actively working with international law enforcement agencies to investigate and recover funds stolen from the people of Bangladesh. Such collaboration is vital to dismantle transnational networks of financial crime. "We hope and expect all friendly governments, including the UK, to stand with the people of Bangladesh in seeking justice for these crimes," said the interim government, adding that corruption hurts everyone other than those who perpetrate it – and some of their favoured relatives and cronies. The ongoing investigation into the $5 billion misappropriation linked to the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant underscores the scale of corruption under the previous government, the statement reads. Read more: Holding election not the sole responsibility of interim government: Nahid The misuse of public resources in this and other projects has not only robbed the people of Bangladesh but also disrupted the country’s progress toward economic stability, said the interim government.

The U.S. Secret Service said Friday that it has recovered $286 million in fraudulently obtained pandemic loans and is returning the money to the Small Business Administration. The Secret Service said an investigation initiated by its Orlando office found that alleged conspirators submitted Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications by using fake or stolen employment and personal information and used an online bank, Green Dot, to conceal and move their criminal proceeds. The agency worked with Green Dot to identify roughly 15,000 accounts and seize $286 million connected to the accounts. “This forfeiture effort and those to come are a direct and necessary response to the unprecedented size and scope of pandemic relief fraud,” said Kevin Chambers, director for COVID-19 fraud enforcement at the Justice Department. Billions have been fraudulently claimed through various pandemic relief programs — including Paycheck Protection Program loans, unemployment insurance and others that were rolled out in the midst of the worldwide pandemic that shutdown global economies for months. Read: FBI seized top secret documents in Trump estate search In March, the Government Accountability Office reported that while agencies were able to distribute COVID-19 relief funds quickly, “the tradeoff was that they did not have systems in place to prevent and identify payment errors and fraud” due in part to “financial management weaknesses.” As a result, the GAO has recommended several measures for agencies to prevent pandemic program fraud in the future, including better reporting on their fraud risk management efforts. Since 2020, the Secret Service initiated more than 3,850 pandemic related fraud investigations, seized over $1.4 billion in fraudulently obtained funds and helped to return $2.3 billion to state unemployment insurance programs. The latest seizure included a collaboration of efforts between Secret Service, the SBA’s Inspector General, DOJ and other offices.   Hannibal “Mike” Ware, the Small Business Administration’s inspector general, said the joint investigations will continue “to ensure that taxpayer dollars obtained through fraudulent means will be returned to taxpayers and fraudsters involved face justice.”