Nearly Tk40,000 crore in laundered assets traced abroad: Press Wing

Bangladesh has traced nearly Tk40,000 crore worth of assets abroad, believed to have been amassed through money laundering, according to the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing on Sunday.

Ahsan Habib, Director General of the National Board of Revenue’s Central Intelligence Cell (CIC), said the investigation began in January and covered seven cities across five countries. After gathering intelligence from various domestic sources, CIC teams conducted on-site inspections to verify information.

The findings were presented by NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan and CIC officials to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna.

Authorities have also uncovered 352 passports linked to Bangladeshis obtained through monetary exchange in nine countries — Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, North Macedonia, Malta, St Lucia, and Turkey.

“So far, 346 properties have been identified abroad under the names of individuals and institutions involved in money laundering from Bangladesh,” Ahsan Habib said. “This is only a partial result; investigations are ongoing.”

The CIC is working to confiscate these assets and hold the offenders accountable. The agency is cooperating with more than six international organizations to facilitate the process.

Habib warned that the investigation has only scratched the surface. “Much more information remains to be uncovered, which will take additional time,” he added.

He also revealed that during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s tenure, some involved in money laundering had placed their associates in the central bank’s database management team, resulting in the deletion of crucial data. However, the CIC has now gained the expertise to recover most of the erased information.