Asset recovery is main focus of CA’s London tour: Alam

The main focus of Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus's tour to London is to recover the stolen assets, the CA's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said on Thursday.

"During Sheikh Hasina's reign, $234 billion was siphoned off from Bangladesh to various countries. A part of it was laundered to the UK," he told a press briefing in London.

So, Alam said, the major focus of Prof Yunus's UK visit is on asset recovery.

He mentioned that the officials of the UK government are providing significant assistance to Bangladesh in this regard.

The press secretary said recovering laundered assets is a very important task of the interim government.

"We are doing it so that the money can be brought back to the country and used for the welfare of the people," he said.

National Security Adviser Dr Khalilur Rahman, Special Envoy to the Chief Adviser Lutfey Siddiqi Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Dr Mohammad Abdul Momen and Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur, who are accompanying Chief Adviser, held meetings with the UK authorities, including the National Crimes Agency (NCA) regarding the recovery of stolen assets.

He said the NCA informed that it froze an asset of the former land minister of the ousted Sheikh Hasina government, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury.

Terming Britain an old friend of Bangladesh with good relations, the press secretary hoped that the result of these meetings would be visible soon, saying "we are seeing the reflection of these meetings". 

About the meeting between Prof Yunus and BNP acting Chairman Tarique Rahman to be held in London tomorrow, he said it will be a very important meeting in the context of the national elections scheduled to be held in April next year and the current overall situation of the country.