Bangladesh Defense
Saif
Senior Member
- Jan 24, 2024
- 19,918
- 9,289
- Nation
- Residence
- Axis Group
No deal yet for laundered money repatriation: minister
Staff Correspondent 24 June, 2026, 18:48
Finance minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury. | File photo.
Finance minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on Wednesday told Jatiya Sangsad that determining the actual amount of money laundered from Bangladesh was extremely difficult due to the lack of accurate, adequate and credible information both domestically and internationally, while no formal agreement had yet been signed with any foreign country to facilitate the return of illicitly transferred assets.
The minister made the remarks while responding to a written question during the 14th sitting of the second budget session of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad.
Replying to a question from Netrokona-5 lawmaker Masum Mostafa regarding the amount of money allegedly siphoned abroad during the previous regime and efforts to recover those funds, Khosru said illicitly acquired wealth was typically transferred overseas through highly secretive and complex methods, making it difficult to determine the precise scale of capital flight.
However, he said information compiled by the White Paper Preparation Committee formed by the interim government estimated illicit financial etween 2009 and 2023, averaging $16 billion annually, or approximately Tk 1.8 lakh crore a year.
According to the minister, the estimated illicit outflows were equivalent to 3.4 per cent of Bangladesh’s GDP in FY2023-24, around 20 per cent of export and remittance earnings, approximately 11.2 per cent of national savings, and nearly double the country’s net foreign aid and foreign direct investment inflows.
Outlining measures taken to recover assets transferred abroad, Khosru said a 12-member inter-agency task force, chaired by the Governor of Bangladesh Bank, had been formed to facilitate the recovery of laundered funds and prevent similar incidents in the future.
Based on the task force’s recommendations, authorities identified 11 priority cases under the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012.
These cases include former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, S Alam Group, Beximco Group, Sikder Group, Nassa Group, Orion Group, Bashundhara Group, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her family, Nabil Group, HBM Iqbal, and Summit Group.
The minister said that, as of May 2026, courts had ordered the attachment and freezing of movable and immovable assets worth approximately Tk 76,814 crore in Bangladesh and abroad in connection with the priority cases.
He said that 23 Mutual Legal Assistance Requests had been sent to relevant foreign jurisdictions to facilitate the implementation of court orders.
Authorities had so far filed 142 cases relating to asset recovery, submitted charge sheets in 17 cases, and secured verdicts in six cases.
Khosru said that a Stolen Asset Recovery Division had been established under the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit to strengthen coordination among agencies involved in recovering overseas assets.
The government was also considering establishing a specialised agency dedicated to asset recovery.
The minister said that the government had adopted civil proceedings alongside criminal cases to recover laundered funds.
Around 30 banks affected by the illegal transfer of loan funds abroad had begun appointing nine international law firms on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis to pursue recovery actions. Civil proceedings had already commenced in six of the 11 priority cases, with plans to expand the initiative further, he said.
Responding to a separate question from lawmaker Sk Farid Ahmed, the finance minister said that Bangladesh had not yet signed any formal agreement with another country for the repatriation of illegally transferred funds.
He said the government had initiated efforts to sign mutual legal assistance agreements with 10 countries initially identified as potential destinations for laundered money, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Switzerland, Thailand and Hong Kong-China.
According to the minister, positive progress had been made towards signing agreements with Malaysia, Hong Kong-China and the United Arab Emirates, while the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland had suggested alternative approaches, including memorandums of understanding and case-by-case agreements.
He said that several other countries had also been identified as potential destinations for illicit financial flows, and initiatives would be undertaken to establish mutual legal assistance arrangements with those jurisdictions as well.
Staff Correspondent 24 June, 2026, 18:48
Finance minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury. | File photo.
Finance minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on Wednesday told Jatiya Sangsad that determining the actual amount of money laundered from Bangladesh was extremely difficult due to the lack of accurate, adequate and credible information both domestically and internationally, while no formal agreement had yet been signed with any foreign country to facilitate the return of illicitly transferred assets.
The minister made the remarks while responding to a written question during the 14th sitting of the second budget session of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad.
Replying to a question from Netrokona-5 lawmaker Masum Mostafa regarding the amount of money allegedly siphoned abroad during the previous regime and efforts to recover those funds, Khosru said illicitly acquired wealth was typically transferred overseas through highly secretive and complex methods, making it difficult to determine the precise scale of capital flight.
However, he said information compiled by the White Paper Preparation Committee formed by the interim government estimated illicit financial etween 2009 and 2023, averaging $16 billion annually, or approximately Tk 1.8 lakh crore a year.
According to the minister, the estimated illicit outflows were equivalent to 3.4 per cent of Bangladesh’s GDP in FY2023-24, around 20 per cent of export and remittance earnings, approximately 11.2 per cent of national savings, and nearly double the country’s net foreign aid and foreign direct investment inflows.
Outlining measures taken to recover assets transferred abroad, Khosru said a 12-member inter-agency task force, chaired by the Governor of Bangladesh Bank, had been formed to facilitate the recovery of laundered funds and prevent similar incidents in the future.
Based on the task force’s recommendations, authorities identified 11 priority cases under the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012.
These cases include former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, S Alam Group, Beximco Group, Sikder Group, Nassa Group, Orion Group, Bashundhara Group, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her family, Nabil Group, HBM Iqbal, and Summit Group.
The minister said that, as of May 2026, courts had ordered the attachment and freezing of movable and immovable assets worth approximately Tk 76,814 crore in Bangladesh and abroad in connection with the priority cases.
He said that 23 Mutual Legal Assistance Requests had been sent to relevant foreign jurisdictions to facilitate the implementation of court orders.
Authorities had so far filed 142 cases relating to asset recovery, submitted charge sheets in 17 cases, and secured verdicts in six cases.
Khosru said that a Stolen Asset Recovery Division had been established under the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit to strengthen coordination among agencies involved in recovering overseas assets.
The government was also considering establishing a specialised agency dedicated to asset recovery.
The minister said that the government had adopted civil proceedings alongside criminal cases to recover laundered funds.
Around 30 banks affected by the illegal transfer of loan funds abroad had begun appointing nine international law firms on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis to pursue recovery actions. Civil proceedings had already commenced in six of the 11 priority cases, with plans to expand the initiative further, he said.
Responding to a separate question from lawmaker Sk Farid Ahmed, the finance minister said that Bangladesh had not yet signed any formal agreement with another country for the repatriation of illegally transferred funds.
He said the government had initiated efforts to sign mutual legal assistance agreements with 10 countries initially identified as potential destinations for laundered money, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Switzerland, Thailand and Hong Kong-China.
According to the minister, positive progress had been made towards signing agreements with Malaysia, Hong Kong-China and the United Arab Emirates, while the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland had suggested alternative approaches, including memorandums of understanding and case-by-case agreements.
He said that several other countries had also been identified as potential destinations for illicit financial flows, and initiatives would be undertaken to establish mutual legal assistance arrangements with those jurisdictions as well.
