Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to the chief adviser, has said meetings with international organizations, including the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), will start on December 10 to recover funds embezzled over the past 15 years and siphoned abroad, one of the key commitments of the government.
Speaking at a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka on Sunday evening, Shafiqul highlighted the government's focus on recovering these stolen assets.
The briefing followed the submission of a report by a white paper committee led by noted economist Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya. The committee had been tasked with reviewing the country’s economy and presented its findings to Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus earlier in the day.
In a pre-briefing statement, the chief adviser’s office revealed alarming insights from the report, highlighting rampant corruption, financial manipulation and misappropriation during the tenure of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina. According to the findings, an estimated $16 billion had been illicitly transferred abroad annually over the past 15 years.
Shafiqul described the revelations as “horrific,” citing a systematic plundering of the nation's wealth through collusion among politicians, bureaucrats and oligarchic businesses.
"This looting was carried out blatantly, often legitimized by some," he said.
The press secretary quoted Dr Yunus, who had suggested that the scale of the embezzlement and its mechanisms deserved inclusion in academic curricula to educate future generations about the economic plunder of the last decade and a half.
Shafiqul said the government was fully committed to retrieving the stolen funds.
Starting December 10, the government would engage with international institutions specializing in such recoveries, including meetings with the FBI, he said.
He acknowledged that it was a challenging task, requiring the identification of where the money had been taken and devising ways to bring it back.
Shafiqul said there would be no impunity for those responsible for the massive financial crimes.
