UK-based firms have expressed willingness to invest up to $50 million to assist Bangladesh in recovering assets allegedly laundered abroad during the Awami League’s time in office, the Chief Advisor’s Press Wing said on Tuesday.
Governor Ahsan H Mansur, who heads Bangladesh’s asset recovery task force, led a delegation to the United Kingdom from March 17 to 21. The delegation engaged with British lawmakers, legal experts, and international bodies. The visit prioritized discussions on repatriating stolen public funds.
The initiative aligns with the government’s broader effort to recover funds allegedly lost through banking sector irregularities and corruption over the past 16 years. Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Arief Hossain Khan confirmed the central bank’s involvement in the discussions.
During a March 17 meeting at the UK Parliament’s Portcullis House with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on anti-corruption, Mansur described the asset recovery mission as both a moral obligation and a political imperative. MPs Joe Powell, Rupa Huq, Baroness Uddin, and former justice secretary Alex Chalk attended.
In a meeting with UK Minister for Asia Catherine West, Mansur thanked the UK for its support in strengthening Bangladesh Bank’s asset management.
A seminar on March 19 drew representatives from 30 firms, including litigation funders and forensic experts. Three litigation funding firms pledged up to $50 million contingent on receiving detailed information.
Mansur also held meetings with communication firms and gave interviews to international media to publicize the recovery drive.
