The Anti-Corruption Commission has begun its work to bring back the money laundered abroad during the now overthrown Awami League’s rule between 2009 and 2024.
The national anti-graft agency is taking assistance from local and international agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States, in this regard.
A delegation from the federal investigation bureau in a meeting on Monday assured the anti-corruption commission to cooperate in any legal proceedings, including the recovery of the laundered money.
Allegations remain that people from various professions, including politicians, businesspeople, bureaucrats, and police officials, laundered nearly Tk 1 lakh crore from the country.
The money launderers made their fortunes abroad and purchased properties, established business entities, and invested in second homes in different countries, including the USA, United Kingdom, Canada, Malaysia, Dubai and Singapore.
The commission took the fresh move to bring back the laundered money as the professor Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, formed on August 8, announced that the laundered money would be recovered.
A two-member FBI team held the meeting with senior officials of the commission’s money laundering wing at the latter’s headquarters in Dhaka.
The meeting came up with a cooperation proposal between the two agencies in any legal proceedings, including the recovery of laundered money.
FBI delegation comprising assistant legal attache Robert J Cameron and its police liaison specialist Mohammad Aminul Islam, and ACC director general for money laundering wing Md Mokammel Haque, and intelligence unit’s director Abdullah Al Zahid were present at the meeting.
When asked about this, ACC secretary Khorsheda Yasmeen confirmed journalists that an FBI delegation came to the commission and held a meeting with the officials of the money laundering wing.
At the meeting, they inquired about the overall process of inquiry and investigation of the commission. The delegation assured them of assistance if required by the ACC, she said.
The ACC might seek assistance from the FBI to bring back laundered money from abroad, she added.
A senior ACC official who was present at the meeting said that the meeting was a long one lasting for about one and a half hours.
The visiting team inquired in details about the three processes, namely, investigation, investigation and trial followed by the commission in its work. The meeting also discussed about how the legally cooperation might work, starting with the repatriation of the laundered money from abroad, he said.
‘Overall they got an idea about the ACC activities. Now they will look at how to cooperate with the ACC udder their legislation. To that end, they can submit a proposal. Later, we will discuss that proposal and what we should do,’ he added.
At the meeting, the commission officials also informed the delegation about money laundering related activities, laws, and its capabilities.
Earlier on Sunday, finance adviser Saleh Uddin Ahmed announced the formation of a task force to recover laundered money from abroad.
After a meeting of the Ministry of Commerce at the Secretariat, he told journalists, ‘What will be the working method of the task force, who will be there, the process, are being worked on. This task force will be visible within a few days.’
Earlier, the interim government announced that it started working to ‘acquire local assets’ of embezzlers and bring back laundered money from abroad.
As part of the step, communication with various foreign organisations has also started, according to a press release sent by the chief adviser’s office on August 28.
‘Contacts have already been initiated seeking help from various foreign agencies regarding repatriation of money,’ the release said.
‘Certain dishonest businesspeople and other influential persons in recent years embezzled huge sums of money through massive corruption and fraud in the banking sector and laundered it abroad,’ said the release.
‘Audit work will begin to determine the money swindled by the corrupt people…(but) it can be assumed that the amount could be over Tk1 lakh crore,’ the release said.
The commission was able to recover approximately S$20.41 lakh (Singapore dollars) in 2012, laundered allegedly by Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia’s younger son, Arafat Rahman Koko.
But the commission, later, failed to bring back any laundered money from abroad in the past 12 years.
According to Washington-based Global Financial Integrity, on an average $753.37 crore is laundered every year from Bangladesh through international trade.
A GFI 2021 report estimated that $8.27 billion was laundered annually on average between 2009 and 2018.
According to the National Strategy for Prevention of Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism, most of the Bangladeshi money has been laundered in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Cayman Islands, and British Virgin Islands.
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