Staff Reporter :
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has pledged its full cooperation with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in preventing money laundering and recovering laundered assets from Bangladesh.
This assurance came during a meeting between a five-member delegation of the UNODC and ACC officials at the anti-graft agency’s headquarters on Tuesday (10 September), according to sources familiar with the discussions.
The delegation, led by Marco Teixeira, UNODC’s South Asia head, engaged in detailed discussions on increasing the ACC’s capacity, particularly in preventing money laundering and recovering stolen assets.
During the meeting, the ACC also briefed the UN agency on its current activities in these areas.
The UNODC plays a key role globally in combating illicit drug trafficking, crime prevention, criminal justice, international terrorism, and political corruption.
This meeting with the UNODC follows the ACC’s earlier discussion with the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on similar issues.
After the meeting, ACC Secretary Khorsheda Yasmeen informed reporters that the FBI had also offered assistance in the recovery of laundered funds.
“The ACC will cooperate with the FBI on money laundering issues if
necessary.
The commission has a money laundering wing and will seek cooperation wherever required to bring back the money to the country,” she stated, adding that the FBI officials had assured support for the ACC’s efforts.
Reports of widespread corruption and asset laundering have surfaced following the ouster of the Awami League-led government. It is estimated that over T1 lakh crore has been laundered by former government officials, lawmakers, and politicians.
In a press statement issued in late August, the Chief Adviser’s Office noted, “Audit work will begin to determine the amount swindled by corrupt individuals… (but) it can be assumed that the amount could be over Tk1 lakh crore.”
Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur confirmed that much of the laundered money was transferred to Dubai, Singapore, and the USA.
“We have already communicated with the USA to bring back these foreign assets. A family of smugglers owns 500 to 600 homes in the UK.
We will try to seize their local assets and then recover their foreign assets,” Mansur stated last week.
Among the prominent figures allegedly involved in laundering money are Salman F Rahman, S Alam Group, former social welfare minister Nuruzzaman Ahmed, former state minister for civil aviation and tourism Md Mahbub Ali, and former MP Akhtaruzzaman Babu.
Both the ACC and the Central Investigation Department (CID) have launched investigations into these allegations.
The CID is currently investigating Salman, vice chairman of Beximco Group and former adviser to deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, for allegedly laundering Tk33,470 crore abroad, accumulated through loans from seven banks over the past 15 years.
Additionally, S Alam Group’s Chairman Saiful Alam Masud and his family are under investigation for allegedly laundering Tk1.13 lakh crore through deceptive tactics and informal money transfer systems like hundi.
Bankers point out that there are numerous international precedents for recovering laundered assets. For instance, Malaysia recovered $1.4 billion related to the 1MDB scandal with the assistance of the US Department of Justice.
Similarly, Switzerland returned $321 million to Nigeria, seized from the family of former military ruler Sani Abacha, via a deal signed with the World Bank, according to a 2017 Reuters report.