Frozen bank accounts rise, money remains unrecovered

On August 5 last year, following Sheikh Hasina's departure from the country amid a mass uprising, winds of change swept across almost every sector, including politics and the economy. As part of this transformation, the Governor of Bangladesh Bank, Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur, pledged to restructure the banking sector. He dissolved the boards of 11 "corrupt" banks and reconstituted them while initiating comprehensive banking reforms. He also assured that efforts would be made to recover money laundered from the banking sector. However, in the past six months, there has been little progress in retrieving these laundered funds.

During this period, however, the financial intelligence unit of Bangladesh Bank, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), has frozen more than 2,000 bank accounts belonging to 378 individuals and entities. These accounts reportedly contain Tk 16,000 crore.

According to BFIU, these bank accounts were frozen due to suspicious transactions and allegations of money laundering. Since August 5, 2024, Tk 16,000 crore has been frozen in these accounts, with 115 cases filed against them. So far, 95 final reports have been submitted. By December last year, BFIU had already frozen Tk 15,000 crore from the bank accounts of 366 individuals, with 112 cases filed at that time. This means that in just one month, the amount of frozen money has increased by nearly Tk 1,000 crore. Industry insiders observe that the number of frozen accounts continues to grow, as does the amount of money being seized. However, the government has struggled to repatriate these funds, leaving concerns lingering.

BFIU sources revealed that among the frozen bank accounts are those of Sheikh Hasina, S. Alam Group Chairman Mohammad Saiful Alam, former Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, Beximco Group Vice Chairman Salman F. Rahman, and Bashundhara Group founder Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, along with their family members. Additionally, the list includes accounts belonging to various businesspersons, politicians, and journalists. A source within Bangladesh Bank stated that the account holders withdrew funds from banks through various means and laundered them abroad.
Experts suggest that the government should make every possible effort to repatriate laundered money and assets. They argue that since there are precedents of repatriating illicit funds from other countries, Bangladesh should also be able to retrieve its laundered wealth. They believe that by negotiating new agreements with Egmont member countries—nations with which Bangladesh has bilateral agreements—and seeking assistance from Interpol, it would be possible to bring back these assets.

Egmont is an international alliance of financial intelligence units, comprising 177 countries, including Bangladesh. Additionally, BFIU has bilateral agreements with multiple countries. According to BFIU, letters have already been sent to all potential destinations where money from Bangladesh may have been laundered. The government is making every effort to recover the funds with international cooperation. However, Governor Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur has cautioned that bringing back laundered money is a time-consuming process.

During the recent announcement of the central bank’s monetary policy, he stated that repatriating laundered funds could take four to five years. His remark has raised further concerns among bankers. A Bangladesh Bank official told Views Bangladesh that the governor’s tenure is four years, and he has already completed six months, leaving him with three and a half years in office. Meanwhile, the head of BFIU, the leading agency for recovering laundered funds, has a remaining term of only two years. If the current leadership fails to retrieve the funds within their tenure, future efforts may lose momentum.

Meanwhile, the interim government has reportedly taken several initiatives to recover the large sums of money laundered abroad. Requests for assistance have already been sent to countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. Additionally, government agencies have begun gathering information and working to reclaim illicitly transferred assets in European Union nations, Australia, Canada, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates—where Bangladeshi ministers, MPs, and bureaucrats have allegedly laundered money to purchase land, flats, and establish companies under various names.

Regarding the repatriation of laundered funds, Dr. Toufic Ahmed Chowdhury, former Director General of the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) and an economist, told Views Bangladesh that the new governor is a prudent economist. If it is possible to recover the laundered money, he believes it will happen under the governor’s leadership. However, he emphasized that all key government entities—including the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the National Board of Revenue (NBR), and the Ministry of Finance—must work together. Additionally, cooperation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs may also be necessary.

In a recent press briefing, the Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary, Shafiqul Alam, acknowledged that recovering laundered money is extremely challenging. He stated that among the countries where the Chief Adviser has sought diplomatic assistance for repatriating stolen assets, the United States and the United Kingdom are particularly significant. When a high-level delegation led by Brent Neiman, Deputy Under Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department, recently visited Dhaka, the Chief Adviser raised the issue and formally requested the U.S. government’s support.

If Angola can recover $14 billion, then under the leadership of Dr. Yunus, we can also bring back $234 billion. It has been learned that to facilitate the repatriation and management of laundered assets, the government reorganized the inter-agency task force on September 29. The Governor of Bangladesh Bank has been appointed as the chairman of this task force, while the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) is providing secretarial support.