Yunus seeks ECB chief’s support for recovery of stolen billions
Lagarde said she would support the interim government's move to recover the money
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus has sought the assistance of the European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde to recover billions of dollars stolen from the country during Sheikh Hasina's "dictatorship".
The two dignitaries met in the Swiss city of Davos yesterday (22 January) on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting.
Professor Yunus told Christine Lagarde, also a former chief of the IMF, that some $17 billion alone were taken out from the country's banking system by oligarchs close to the dictatorship, and $16 billion were siphoned off annually during the 15 years of Hasina rule.
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"It was a massive highway robbery," Professor Yunus said, adding the oligarchs first took over banks and then took loans, which they never paid back.
Lagarde said she would support the interim government's move to recover the money, and she recommended that Bangladesh should also take help from the IMF to recover and repatriate the money back home.
During the talks, they also discussed the July uprising and Bangladesh's reform initiatives. Lagarde also voiced her support for Bangladeshi educational institutions.
Lamiya Morshed, the SDG coordinator of the Bangladesh government, and Tareq Ariful Islam, the Bangladesh permanent envoy in Geneva, also joined the meeting.
