‘Over Tk 4.0 billion laundered by an individual as tuition fees’

An incident of laundering over Tk 4.0 billion in the name of tuition fees for a single semester is unearthed by the teams engaged in tracing laundered money.

The information was disclosed in a high-level meeting on the recovery of laundered assets held at the State Guest House Jamuna in the city on Monday.

The meeting, chaired by Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus, was also told that assets of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her family members were traced in six countries including the UK, USA, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Kay-amen Islands.

The meeting decided to enact a new law by this week to expedite the process of asset recovery, said Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to the Chief Adviser.

Among others, the meeting was attended by Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, Law Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul, Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur, Chief Adviser's Special Envoy Lutfey Siddiqi, Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Dr Mohammad Abdul Momen, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) chief, the home secretary, and the finance secretary.

Briefing the press about the meeting, he said that since the assumption of power, this interim government has given top priority to recovering the money laundered abroad during the previous regime.

He said that the government has been tirelessly working to trace and recover the laundered assets, and the meeting was held to review the progress.

Dr Yunus has directed the concerned departments and the agencies to keep no stone unturned to recover the laundered money.

The meeting reviewed 11 cases against individuals and groups, including Sheikh Hasina and her family members.

According to documents, Tk 6.34 billion deposited in 124 accounts by Hasina and her family members was frizzed by the investigation team.

The task force led by Dr Debapriya Bhattcharya in its white paper revealed that during the previous regime 234 billion US dollar was laundered from Bangladesh of which over 16 billion dollar was laundered through banking channels.

When asked, Mr Alam declined to reveal the identity of the person who laundered over Tk 4.0 billion.

"We just disclosed this incident to show the unique tactics used to launder the money during the previous regime," he said adding that the name could not be disclosed for the sake of investigation.

Alam said the existence of a Russian slush fund was also found in a bank in Malaysia.  

He said over Taka 6.36 billion deposited in 124 bank accounts were attached or frozen, while 60-katha plots of Rajuk and eight flats with 10 decimal land worth Taka 88.5 million were attached.

The press secretary said six cases were filed against Hasina and her family members on charges of plundering and forgery. Probes were completed and charge-sheets were submitted in six cases, and a travel ban was imposed on seven family members of Hasina.

Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) sent two intelligence reports to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and froze Taka 51.5 million deposited in 11 bank accounts.

The government decided to hold an international conference on asset recovery in May with all the stakeholders, he said adding that the government is in touch with over 200 international legal firms, who are experts in asset recovery.

Next week, the central bank governor will visit the UK to talk to all party parliamentary bodies on anti-corruption to request them to freeze assets laundered from Bangladesh, he added.

Chief Adviser's Deputy Press Secretaries Abul Kalam Azad and Apurba Jahangir and Assistant Press Secretary Suchismita Tithi were present at the briefing.

mirmostafiz@yahoo.com