Govt sends legal requests to 23 countries to recover laundered funds
The finance minister said the MLARs are part of coordinated legal measures to recover illicitly transferred funds and enforce foreign court orders related to frozen and attached assets.
Highlights
- 21 more MLARs under process to recover laundered funds
- Tk70,446 crore assets attached and frozen by courts
- 141 cases filed to recover illicitly transferred money
- Stolen Asset Recovery Division formed under BFIU
The government has sent Mutual Legal Assistance Requests (MLARs) to 23 countries, with another 21 under process, as part of its efforts to recover laundered funds, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury told Parliament today (21 April).
Responding to a query from Chapainawabganj-3 MP Md Nurul Islam, the finance minister said the MLARs are part of coordinated legal measures to recover illicitly transferred funds and enforce foreign court orders related to frozen and attached assets.
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He said a 12-member inter-agency task force, headed by the Bangladesh Bank governor, is overseeing the recovery drive. Based on its recommendations, 11 priority money laundering cases have been identified under the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012.
11 Joint Investigation Teams, led by the Anti-Corruption Commission and involving CID, NBR's Central Intelligence Cell, customs intelligence and other agencies, are conducting investigations.
For international cooperation, he said Bangladesh has identified 10 key destination countries for illicit funds, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Switzerland, Thailand and Hong Kong.
He added that draft Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) have been initiated with several of these countries, with Malaysia, Hong Kong and the UAE agreeing in principle. The US, UK and Switzerland have suggested case-by-case or memorandum-based cooperation frameworks, while MLATs are already in place with India and South Africa.
As of 25 March, he said, courts have attached and frozen assets worth Tk 70,446 crore at home and abroad, including Tk 57,168 crore domestically and Tk 13,278 crore overseas. So far, 141 cases have been filed, with 15 charge sheets submitted and six verdicts delivered.
He also said Bangladesh is working with international bodies, including the World Bank–UNODC Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative, the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre, the International Centre for Asset Recovery, and the US Department of Justice.
He added that a dedicated Stolen Asset Recovery Division has been set up under the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) to streamline and accelerate recovery efforts.
