Govt considers formation of specialised agency to recover smuggled assets: Khosru

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury today (6 September) told Parliament that the government is actively considering the formation of a specialised authority to recover assets siphoned off abroad.

"The formation of a specialised agency in Bangladesh, following the example of many other countries in the world, is being considered for the efficient and effective implementation of laundered assets recovery activities," he said.

The finance minister said this while addressing a starred question from treasury bench member Md Jalal Uddin (Chandpur-2) during the question-and-answer session in the House.

Amir Khosru said a huge amount of money was laundered to different countries during the previous fascist government.

Citing that the government has taken a number of steps to recover the looted money, he said a 12-member inter-agency task force was formed under the chairmanship of the Governor of Bangladesh Bank to bring back money laundered abroad from Bangladesh and prevent recurrence of similar incidents in the future.

As per the recommendations of the task force, 11 priority cases were identified under the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012, he said.

The cases involve former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, S Alam Group, Beximco Group, Shikder Group, NASA Group, Orion Group, Bashundhara Group, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her family, Nabil Group, HBM Iqbal and Summit Group.

To investigate the cases, the finance minister said 11 Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) have been formed under the leadership of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), with representatives from the CID of Bangladesh Police, the Central Intelligence Cell of the National Board of Revenue and the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Department.

"After the formation of the JITs, in 11 priority cases, a total of some Tk 76,983.93 crore of movable and immovable assets have been attached and frozen by the courts in the country and abroad till July 2026," he said.

Khosru said Bangladesh has also sent 23 Mutual Legal Assistance Requests (MLARs) to respective countries to implement orders issued by Bangladeshi courts.

"A total of 142 cases have so far been filed to recover laundered money, with charge sheets submitted in 16 cases and verdicts delivered in six," he said.

He said the government has initiated moves to sign Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) with 10 countries identified as destinations for laundered money—Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Switzerland, Thailand and Hong Kong-China.

"MLATs with Malaysia and Hong Kong-China are at the final stage," he said.

To strengthen coordination in asset recovery efforts, the government has already established a Stolen Asset Recovery Division under the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), Khosru said.

He said the government is also receiving advice, technical assistance and training from the foreign countries concerned and international agencies, including the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre (IACCC), the World Bank's Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Centre for Asset Recovery and the US Department of Justice.

Besides, Bangladesh has joined the Global Operational Network of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities (GlobE Network) and the Asset Recovery Interagency Network-Asia Pacific (ARIN-AP), said Khosru.