BB governor pushes asset recovery agenda in key UK meetings
Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur visited London from 10 to 13 June as part of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus' official entourage, with a focus on advancing Bangladesh's asset recovery efforts through international collaboration.
On Wednesday, Mansur, accompanied by Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman Mohammad Abdul Momen, visited the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) and met senior officials, including Daniel Murphy, head of the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre (IACCC).
The governor expressed his appreciation for the IACCC's ongoing support and collaboration with Bangladesh's Asset Recovery Taskforce, particularly its technical assistance to the 11 Joint Investigations Teams (JITs) tasked with recovering priority assets.
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He also thanked the NCA for freezing £170 million in UK-based assets of former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury. This follows a previous £90 million asset freeze targeting Shayan Rahman and Shariar Rahman of the Beximco Group.
The governor said he hopes for deeper collaboration with the NCA and IACCC and praised the UK's leadership in freezing a total of £250 million in assets.
He expressed optimism that this will encourage other major money laundering destination countries to take similar actions in support of Bangladesh's asset recovery efforts.
Following the NCA meeting, the governor attended an Asset Recovery Roundtable hosted by leading global law firm DLA Piper. The event was also joined by major litigation funders such as Omni Bridgeway and Benchwalk Capital, along with investigative firms including Alvarez and Marsal and Sovereign Advisory/Unitas Global.
Discussions focused on the governor's plan to mobilise $100 million in litigation funding to finance 30 asset recovery cases by the end of 2025.
The governor held a separate meeting with global asset management giant BlackRock, where he briefed them on Bangladesh's improving macroeconomic outlook and encouraged greater investment in the country's banking and capital markets.
In addition, Mansur held meetings with several money exchange houses in London to explore ways to streamline the remittance process and sustain the current growth momentum in remittance inflows.
