United News of Bangladesh

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.”