Dhaka: Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury revealed in Parliament on Sunday that the government is contemplating the establishment of a specialised agency dedicated to the recovery of assets smuggled abroad. This move aims to emulate successful asset recovery practices from other countries.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the finance minister addressed a question from treasury bench member Md Jalal Uddin, indicating that substantial funds had been laundered to various countries during the tenure of the previous government. To counteract this, a 12-member inter-agency task force was established under the leadership of the Governor of Bangladesh Bank. This task force is responsible for the repatriation of laundered funds and aims to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
The task force identified 11 priority cases under the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012, involving prominent figures and groups such as former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, and companies like S Alam Group, Beximco Group, and Bashundhara Group. To investigate these cases, 11 Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) were formed under the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), with support from various national agencies.
Khosru reported that, as of July 2026, courts have attached and frozen assets worth approximately Tk 76,983.93 crore related to these cases. Additionally, Bangladesh has issued 23 Mutual Legal Assistance Requests (MLARs) to foreign countries to enforce court orders from Bangladesh.
The government has filed 142 cases to recover laundered funds, with charge sheets submitted in 16 cases and verdicts delivered in six. Efforts are underway to sign Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) with 10 countries identified as destinations for the laundered money, with agreements with Malaysia and Hong Kong-China nearing completion.
To further bolster asset recovery, the government has created a Stolen Asset Recovery Division within the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU). Khosru noted that Bangladesh is receiving support and training from international organizations such as the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre (IACCC) and the US Department of Justice.
Bangladesh has also joined international networks like the Global Operational Network of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities (GlobE Network) and the Asset Recovery Interagency Network-Asia Pacific (ARIN-AP), enhancing its collaborative efforts in the fight against corruption and asset recovery.