Shafiqul Alam, the Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary, revealed that assets belonging to deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her family have been discovered in five countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States.
At a press briefing this afternoon at the Foreign Service Academy, Alam disclosed that a joint investigation team had uncovered properties linked to Hasina and her family members in the UK, US, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Cayman Islands. The team also identified a Russian slush fund located in a bank in Malaysia, suspected of being used for illicit purposes.
Alam noted that over Tk 636 crore, spread across 124 bank accounts, had been frozen or attached. In addition, assets, including a 60-katha plot from Rajuk and eight flats with 10 decimal land valued at Tk 8.85 crore, were also seized.
He further mentioned that six legal cases had been filed against Hasina and her family members, accusing them of plundering and forgery, with investigations and charge sheets now completed. A travel ban has also been imposed on seven members of the family.
Alam confirmed that the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) had sent two intelligence reports to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), which led to the freezing of Tk 5.15 crore across 11 bank accounts. The BIFU also provided the ACC with comprehensive details of all bank accounts associated with Hasina and her family.
The press secretary also highlighted significant concerns regarding money laundering during Hasina’s regime, estimating that around $234 billion had been laundered from Bangladesh, with $17 billion of that amount siphoned from the country’s banking sector. Alam referred to this as an “extra kind of highway robbery.”
Accompanying Alam at the press briefing were Deputy Press Secretaries Abul Kalam Azad and Apurba Jahangir, as well as Assistant Press Secretary Suchismita Tithi.
