Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Monday called for expediting efforts to bring back billions in stolen money - both from the banking system and other means - as the government plans to frame a special law to fulfill legal requirements.
Yunus made the call at a meeting held with an 11-member task force formed in September last year, headed by Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur and senior officials of the relevant department and agencies.
While briefing reporters at the Foreign Service Academy, Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said a law will be framed soon to facilitate the process of recovering the stolen money.
When asked how the law will be enacted in the absence of parliament, Shafiqul said it will be done through promulgating an ordinance as a set procedure.
He said the task force has already talked to around 200 law firms and that it might go for agreements with around 30 internationally reputed firms to facilitate the process.
Shafiqul added that the selection process has not been made yet and that it will be done through a legal process.
"It is a kind of highway robbery. It is the top priority of the government. The government wants to bring back the stolen money at any cost," Shafiqul said, adding that the meeting lasted 90 minutes.
He said the new law is being made quickly, most probably by the next week, to expedite the efforts and make overall coordination smoother.
He added that the chief adviser laid emphasis on making the best use of time and stressed that they should not waste a single day.
“There were efforts from the very beginning to bring the stolen money back as one of the top priorities as these are people’s money,” he said.
Referring to the white paper on the state of the economy, the press secretary said around $234 billion was siphoned off under the Sheikh Hasina regime from 2009 to 2024 (August 5) and $17 billion from the banking system.
He said the government is working on 11 big companies and individuals, including former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her family members.
He cited an example of an individual sending Tk400-500 crore abroad in tuition fees.
The meeting decided to go into further details of money laundering to know how it happened and where it has gone.
The chief adviser sought updates from all who attended the meeting and directed them to put in their best efforts to bring back money as quickly as possible.
Shafiqul said such meetings will be held each month and that the next meeting will be held after Eid.
The press secretary said the interim government is in discussion with Malaysia and Singapore, adding that Malaysia also wants to help Bangladesh in terms of asset recovery.
Shafiqul said the central bank governor will speak at a program in the UK on March 17 on the need for the UK to support Bangladesh on asset recovery.
Meanwhile, a half-day conference will be held on March 19 in London with the participation of international law firms, he said.
The press secretary said there will be a conference to be held in London in early May with the support of the World Bank’s stolen asset recovery (STAR) initiative.
“These are very crucial to bring back the stolen money,” he said, adding that the interim government expects to recover some stolen assets by this year if they can make progress to that end.