Senior Correspondent
The interim government will sit with international organisations, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI, from Dec 10 to discuss efforts to recover funds laundered during the Awami League government’s tenure.
“We will do whatever it takes to bring the money back. Starting the 10th of December, several initiatives will begin,” Chief Advisor’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said during a press conference at Dhaka’s Foreign Service Academy on Sunday.
He added, “We will be holding meetings with international organisations, including the FBI. Our entire focus will be on how to recover the money.”
The press secretary pointed out that recovering the money is a complex task involving legal processes and the need to confirm where the funds have been moved.
“There are specialised international agencies for this purpose, and we are consulting with them to determine the best course of action,” said Shafiqul.
He added, “Recovering the money is a tough task. It is one of our top priorities.”
The press secretary said Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus was “alarmed” after seeing the report of the committee preparing the white paper on the economy of the Awami League government.
He highlighted that the report was prepared based on official information, adding: “Otherwise, questions would arise about its accuracy. However, the report will provide a complete picture of how people’s money was looted and how institutions were hollowed out.”
The amounts are from the taxpayers of Bangladesh. They have plundered money of many of the country’s poor people, said Shafiqul quoting the chief advisor.
According to him, some politicians, bureaucrats, and businessmen have been involved in laundering the amounts, adding that the number of looters is “not very high”.
Once Sheikh Hasina had boasted that even her office peon had made Tk 4 billion, said the press secretary referring to a past comment from former prime minister.
Thousands of people had been killed and disappeared. Justice against the crimes is inevitable. But those who have left the country keeping it in a chaotic state and committed massive theft won’t be spared, said Shafiqul highlighting that the government’s one of the main priorities is to bring the culprits into trial who have looted from the country for 15 years.
The press secretary also said the Anti-Corruption Commission will soon be staffed to begin investigating those involved in the theft.
Shafiqul accused the mega project of being rife with corruption, saying: “Take the tunnel under the Karnaphuli River in Chattogram as an example. The entire project was designed solely to benefit the parliamentary constituency of former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury.”
A seven-star hotel costing Tk 4.5 billion has been built there, but who will go there? It is built with the taxpayers’ money. Now, it has been even impossible to draw the maintenance costs from there. Such things occurred right before our eyes, he added.
Some Tk 60 billion was printed before the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime. The main purpose of printing the money was to help the S Alam Group in laundering funds, claimed Shafiqul when asked about the printing of Tk 22.5 billion to support banks that could impact to worsen inflation.
