In a major expansion of its capital recovery and anti-money laundering campaign, Bangladesh Bank has identified a second tranche of 42 defaulting corporate entities—each holding over Tk200 crore ($20 million+) in non-performing loans (NPLs)—to trace, freeze, and repatriate illicitly siphoned offshore assets.
To execute cross-border asset tracking across 12 target jurisdictions, commercial banks have engaged eight top-tier international legal and forensic consulting firms.
Progress on these asset recovery operations was formally reviewed in a high-level executive meeting on Sunday (August 9, 2026) at Bangladesh Bank headquarters, chaired by governor Md Mostaqur Rahman and attended by managing directors of commercial banks.
A total of 42 large corporate defaulters with individual NPL liabilities exceeding Tk200 crore were identified in the second phase using Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) and Credit Information Bureau (CIB) database analytics.
Commercial banks signed risk-free engagement contracts with international forensic firms.
Consultants will cover upfront search expenses and earn a percentage fee only upon the successful identification, judicial freezing, and recovery of siphoned assets.
The recovery operation focuses on the UK, US, UAE, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Belgium, New Zealand, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, and Australia.
The advisory and forensic consortium includes Grant Thornton, RI Consortium, Baker McKenzie & PwC, DLA Piper & Kroll, EY & Dentons, Rahman Ravelli & Interpath, BCG & HHR, and Animus Associates.
These 42 corporate entities build upon initial priority recovery actions targeting major business groups, including S. Alam Group, Beximco Group, Nabil Group, Summit Group, Orion Group, Nassa Group, Bashundhara Group, Premier Group, Sikder Group, Aramit Group, and assets linked to the family of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Central bank officials and commercial bank executives emphasize that standard domestic recovery tools—such as auctioning mortgaged local properties or filing claims in Money Loan Courts (Artha Rin Adalat)—are insufficient to recover multi-billion-taka default liabilities.
Large borrowers frequently pledged overvalued or inadequate domestic collateral while diverting loan proceeds into offshore assets.
By partnering with international forensic investigators and legal firms, regulators can trace beneficial ownership across offshore registries, shell companies, and foreign real estate holdings.
Once identified, local courts in the host countries will be petitioned to freeze and liquidate these assets to pay down outstanding bank debts in Bangladesh.
"International legal and investigative firms are assessing the location, asset class, and financial valuation of offshore holdings based on bank intelligence," explained Arief Hossain Khan, executive director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank.
"Identifying an asset is the first step. Once located, we must secure freezing orders in the courts of the host country according to local laws. Following judicial rulings, the assets will be liquidated and the proceeds legally repatriated to Bangladesh to settle outstanding bank loans."
Senior financial analysts note that while cross-border asset recovery takes time, adopting a performance-based "No Win, No Pay" model protects commercial banks from high upfront litigation fees.
Successfully recovering even a fraction of these siphoned assets will help relieve capital adequacy pressures, reduce non-performing loan ratios, and restore liquidity across Bangladesh's banking sector.
