The United States Department of State has said Washington never previews sanction actions before they take place and that it wants Bangladesh to root out corrupt actors within the country.
"I said in response to a different question earlier about a different country, we never preview sanctions actions before they take place. Generally speaking, sanctions can be a tool to fight corruption," spokesperson Matthew Miller said while replying to a question at a daily briefing on Tuesday.
"We have other tools as well, such as freezing assets and giving partner nations information so they can prosecute cases. And we encourage Bangladesh to root out corrupt actors operating with its – within its borders fairly and impartially."
He was replying to a question about the just-concluded Bangladesh visit of the State Department's coordinator for global anti-corruption, Richard Nephew, and about the possibility of imposing sanctions on those involved in corruption and money laundering.
Replying to another question, Miller reiterated Washington’s position of supporting "free and fair" polls in Bangladesh.
"We’ve made that (free and fair elections) clear publicly. We’ve made that clear in conversations with the Bangladeshi government, and that will continue to be our policy," he said.
