London to help Dhaka recover siphoned money

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News Desk: The British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the UK said that it is committed in helping Bangladesh track down and recover assets acquired in the UK using funds misappropriated by the previous government.

The office made this statement on December 17, 2024 in response to a question asked by a parliamentarian, Lloyd Hatton to the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs.

“The UK is committed to assisting investigative, prosecuting and judicial authorities in combating international crime. We have robust illicit finance legislation and instruments which can be used to support asset recovery requests,” said the statement.

“Requests require significant domestic political support, as well as cooperation from law enforcement agencies and the judiciary. We are in discussions with the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre hosted by the UK’s National Crime Agency and the International Centre for Asset Recovery on how to support the Interim Government of Bangladesh,” it added.

The statement went on to say that in October, the UK National Crime Agency visited Dhaka as part of the UK’s effort to support Bangladesh in this area.

“We will continue to support these recoveries to the extent that we can,” it said.

Hatton’s question to the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs is the latest in line of Brisith parliamentarians criticising kelptocracy in Bangladesh.

A newsletter sent on Friday by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax said that they have engaged with all 56 MPs representing constituencies where the properties of former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury are located.

On October 15, the group held a parliamentary briefing to discuss how the UK can help Bangladesh recover its stolen money.

The parliamentary group’s chair Joe Powell MP posted on his X profile, “We are at the epicentre of the housing crisis and must do what we can to prevent kleptocrats from snapping up London property with illicit wealth.”