Governor urges banks to engage int’l law firms for stolen asset recovery

Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur has urged banks to engage international law firms to recover assets laundered abroad by influential political figures and business groups, including S Alam, over the past 15 years.

Global legal firms have the expertise to trace these funds, prove they were laundered from Bangladesh, and seize them through legal procedures, he said at a meeting yesterday with the chairmen of eight banks.

Confirming the matter, Governor Mansur told TBS, "One or two banks have already signed agreements with foreign firms. The remaining must also sign agreements with foreign law firms, which is why they were called today."

He added, "We have to file claims – without filing claims, it's not possible to recover money from abroad. Who will file these claims? The law firms will. They will recover the assets through legal procedures."

The governor added that the banks, whose money was embezzled, were instructed to sign agreements with foreign law firms as soon as possible. In this process, some banks will act as lead banks while others will provide support.

One of the bank chairmen who attended the meeting told TBS that banks will not incur additional costs for hiring these firms, as they would take a share of the recovered assets instead of charging extra fees.

He added that the governor outlined Bangladesh Bank's strategy for the recovery effort and highlighted the urgency, as several banks still hold unpaid loans from these groups.

"He [the governor] said that if there are assets in any foreign country from which a significant amount can be recovered, the law firms will be interested in retrieving them," he said.

The bank chairman, however, noted that the recovery process could be slow due to legal hurdles.