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Revving up for recovering nation's stolen assets
FE
Published :
Mar 14, 2025 21:45
Updated :
Mar 14, 2025 21:45
The media report that the interim government has fast-tracked the work of the high powered 11-member inter-agency task force to bring back a part of the money stolen, laundered abroad and deposited in foreign banks or lying in other forms is no doubt a development worth noting. And, any effort towards recovering the state resources worth billions of dollar is welcome since it was one of the causes for which the nation's valiant sons and daughters made supreme sacrifices during last year's July-August uprising.
Since Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus while assuming office in August last year stated the recovery of stolen money a priority task, it is believed the team he has formed for the purpose would do its best to accomplish the objective. That a special law is also going to be enacted soon to facilitate the task forces' job is well-timed. In the circumstances, the interim government, given its limited tenure in office, would do well to step up the work for its preparatory phase and jump-start the real work, so the government might see its mission is achieved during its incumbency to the fulfillment of the people's expectations. Understandably, recovering laundered money is a notoriously challenging and knotty task with a history of few successes worth mentioning. In this connection, the finance adviser, Dr Salehuddin Ahmed's optimism as expressed to the media following a meeting of the Advisory Council Committee on Government Purchase on Tuesday (March 11) is of course reassuring.
However, there are still reasons to take the stances of resolve and optimism occasionally expressed by the different advisers of the government on issues such as curbing inflation or arresting deterioration of law and order with a grain of salt. In that case, the basic work of reaching agreements and deals with foreign nations and agencies willing to support us in recovering laundered assets should be expedited. Admittedly, the scale of despoiling a nation's economic backbone by some people masquerading as champions of the country's war of independence is mindboggling as well as rare in the history of the world. Just to imagine that during the past one decade and a half plus years that they ruled the country, they siphoned away at the rate of US$16 billion every year, as revealed by the recently released 'White Paper on Bangladesh economy'. And the central bank governor, on the other hand, also made it known that during that same period fund worth US$75 billion was stashed away in overseas locations just by using banking channel. It is yet another shocker. But it is not that the general public was quite in the dark about what was happening as the reports of bank looting by a certain infamous crony oligarch often grabbed the headlines. But what was still unknown to them was the sheer magnitude of misappropriation of the nation's resources.
So, the nation would be waiting with keen anticipation about the outcome of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) governor's reported upcoming meeting with the UK's All Party Parliamentary Group. Notably, in that meeting BB governor will be seeking the said Group's support in recovering funds laundered to the UK as well as requesting imposition of the UK government's ban on any sale or transfer of such Bangladesh-origin assets. It is earnestly believed that the interim government's effort towards recovering nation's assets lost to the plundering by deposed autocrat and her henchmen would see success.
FE
Published :
Mar 14, 2025 21:45
Updated :
Mar 14, 2025 21:45
The media report that the interim government has fast-tracked the work of the high powered 11-member inter-agency task force to bring back a part of the money stolen, laundered abroad and deposited in foreign banks or lying in other forms is no doubt a development worth noting. And, any effort towards recovering the state resources worth billions of dollar is welcome since it was one of the causes for which the nation's valiant sons and daughters made supreme sacrifices during last year's July-August uprising.
Since Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus while assuming office in August last year stated the recovery of stolen money a priority task, it is believed the team he has formed for the purpose would do its best to accomplish the objective. That a special law is also going to be enacted soon to facilitate the task forces' job is well-timed. In the circumstances, the interim government, given its limited tenure in office, would do well to step up the work for its preparatory phase and jump-start the real work, so the government might see its mission is achieved during its incumbency to the fulfillment of the people's expectations. Understandably, recovering laundered money is a notoriously challenging and knotty task with a history of few successes worth mentioning. In this connection, the finance adviser, Dr Salehuddin Ahmed's optimism as expressed to the media following a meeting of the Advisory Council Committee on Government Purchase on Tuesday (March 11) is of course reassuring.
However, there are still reasons to take the stances of resolve and optimism occasionally expressed by the different advisers of the government on issues such as curbing inflation or arresting deterioration of law and order with a grain of salt. In that case, the basic work of reaching agreements and deals with foreign nations and agencies willing to support us in recovering laundered assets should be expedited. Admittedly, the scale of despoiling a nation's economic backbone by some people masquerading as champions of the country's war of independence is mindboggling as well as rare in the history of the world. Just to imagine that during the past one decade and a half plus years that they ruled the country, they siphoned away at the rate of US$16 billion every year, as revealed by the recently released 'White Paper on Bangladesh economy'. And the central bank governor, on the other hand, also made it known that during that same period fund worth US$75 billion was stashed away in overseas locations just by using banking channel. It is yet another shocker. But it is not that the general public was quite in the dark about what was happening as the reports of bank looting by a certain infamous crony oligarch often grabbed the headlines. But what was still unknown to them was the sheer magnitude of misappropriation of the nation's resources.
So, the nation would be waiting with keen anticipation about the outcome of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) governor's reported upcoming meeting with the UK's All Party Parliamentary Group. Notably, in that meeting BB governor will be seeking the said Group's support in recovering funds laundered to the UK as well as requesting imposition of the UK government's ban on any sale or transfer of such Bangladesh-origin assets. It is earnestly believed that the interim government's effort towards recovering nation's assets lost to the plundering by deposed autocrat and her henchmen would see success.
