Govt starts process to recover TK400b assets laundered abroad

The government has launched a coordinated effort to recover assets worth nearly Tk 400 billion siphoned abroad, officials confirmed on Thursday.

Prime Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said that teams comprising Bangladesh Bank, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the National Board of Revenue (NBR), and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) are working together on the recovery process.

“This is a very extensive task and it may take several years to bring back the entire amount,” he noted at a briefing at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka.

According to information provided to Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus by Ahsan Habib, Director General of the NBR’s Central Intelligence Cell (CIC), the assets were identified during investigations conducted in seven cities across five countries since January this year.

The Press Secretary explained that while the government has already managed to freeze some of the properties, legal complexities in different jurisdictions remain a major challenge.

“Our first step is to identify the assets, then engage with the authorities in the relevant countries, and finally freeze those properties. Since these were purchased with laundered money from Bangladesh, the objective is to sell them off and repatriate the proceeds,” he said.

He added that recovery operations require sending teams abroad to verify assets on the ground and to liaise with local authorities.

“These efforts are being pursued with due seriousness, but the process is inevitably time-consuming,” he stressed.

mirmostafiz@yahio.con