BB governor meets global litigation funders to mobilise $100m for tracing stolen assets
He also met with the world's largest Asset Manager Blackrock to discuss Bangladesh’s improving macro outlook and encourage greater investment in banking and capital markets
Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur held meetings with major global litigation funders during his visit to London to mobilise $100 million to finance 30 asset recovery cases before the end of 2025.
During his recent visit from 10 to 13 June as part of the chief adviser's delegation, Mansur held meetings with global litigation funders Omni Bridgeway and Bench Walk Capital, as well as investigation firms such as Alvarez and Marsal, and sovereign advisory/strategic communication firm Unitas Global, according to a press release issued by the Bangladesh Bank.
The governor was the chief guest at an asset recovery roundtable hosted by leading global law firm DLA Piper where litigation funders discussed the roadmap to achieve the governor's goal to mobilise $100 million.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
A number of participants emphasised the need to quickly sign NDAs with Bangladesh Bank and individual banks to share data on their non-performing loans (NPLs) and start the process of asset tracing and legal actions for recovery.
The governor also expressed his support for the suggestion from the roundtable attendees of establishing a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to pursue legal claims in key target countries like the UK and Singapore to institutionalise the asset recovery process and make it more resistant to political change, said the release.
According to the press release, the BB governor also held a number of important meetings separately in support of key policy issues. The governor, along with the Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman Mohammad Abdul Momen, on 11 June visited the UK National Crimes Agency (NCA) and met a number of senior officials, including Daniel Murphy, head of the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre.
The governor expressed his appreciation for the ongoing support and close collaboration the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre had with Bangladesh's Asset Recovery Taskforce and technical assistance for the 11 Joint Investigations Teams (JITs) formed to investigate the 11 priority asset recovery cases.
The governor also expressed his thanks for the NCA asset freeze of £170 million of the former land minister Syefuzzaman Choudury Javed's property assets in the UK that followed on from £90 million asset freeze of Shayan Rahman and Shariar Rahman of Beximco Group's assets last month.
The governor hoped there would be deeper collaboration with NCA and the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre in the future and that the UK's decision to take the lead with an aggregate £250 million of asset freezes would inspire other key money laundering destination countries' governments to also follow with similar actions to support Bangladesh's asset recovery.
The governor also met with the world's largest asset manager, Blackrock, to update them on the improving Bangladesh macro outlook and persuade them to invest more in the banking sector as well as the capital markets.
The governor met the Lord Mayor of London and leading fintech companies to discuss greater investment and collaboration from the City of London with Bangladesh's financial sector. The governor invited the Lord Mayor to visit Bangladesh at his earliest convenience.
The governor also met with a number of money exchange houses in London to understand how to make the remittance process smoother and encourage the strong momentum of remittance growth to continue.
