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The government and Bangladesh Bank have undertaken a series of measures to address rising non-performing loans (NPLs), loan fraud, money laundering and risks stemming from irregular lending to influential borrowers, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury told Parliament on Tuesday.
He said the authorities were taking action against major loan defaulters while implementing measures to ensure the safety of depositors’ funds and restore public confidence in the banking sector.
The finance minister made the remarks in a written reply to a question from opposition lawmaker Hafez Muhammad Rabiul Bashar elected from Satkhira-3 constituency.
Responding to a query on government initiatives to address financial risks arising from growing default loans, loan scams, money laundering and politically influential borrowers, the minister outlined a number of regulatory and enforcement measures.
He said Bangladesh Bank had provided policy support to facilitate loan recovery and issued circular No. 07/2025 to help banks recover loans from borrowers unable to repay on schedule.
According to the minister, a resolution strategy guideline has also been introduced for banks with high levels of classified loans. In addition, circular No. 06, issued on 12 March 2024, provides a framework for identifying wilful defaulters and taking action against them under the amended Bank Company Act.
He said the policy specifies procedures for identifying wilful defaulters and outlines punitive measures against them.
On efforts to prevent money laundering and recover assets laundered abroad, Khosru said a 12-member inter-agency task force, headed by the Bangladesh Bank governor, had been formed.
Based on the task force’s recommendations, the government has identified 11 priority cases under the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012.
To investigate the cases, 11 Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) have been formed under the leadership of the Anti-Corruption Commission, involving the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police, the Central Intelligence Cell of the National Board of Revenue and the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate.
Providing an update on the investigations, the minister said as of April 2026, courts had ordered the attachment of domestic immovable assets worth Tk 9,918.86 crore and the freezing of movable assets worth Tk 47,249.23 crore.
Abroad, immovable assets worth Tk 15,111.92 crore have been attached and movable assets worth Tk 4,533.99 crore frozen, he added.
In total, assets worth around Tk 76,814 crore at home and abroad have been attached or frozen through court orders.
Khosru said 142 cases had so far been filed to recover laundered money. Charge sheets have been submitted in 16 cases, while verdicts have been delivered in six.
To strengthen efforts to recover assets siphoned abroad, a dedicated Stolen Asset Recovery Division has recently been established under the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), he added.