“Should funds be siphoned abroad, we will work to establish our claims. We are doing everything possible to recover the money through legal channels. This will be done through bilateral and international legal procedures.”

— Ahsan H Mansur BB Governor

Bangladesh has intensified its efforts to sign bilateral agreements with different countries to recover funds illegally withdrawn from abroad, Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur said.

“We are taking action against those who fled abroad with funds from Bangladesh, and coordinated efforts are underway,” he said at the 3rd Bangladesh Economic Summit 2024 organized by the Bengali daily Bonik Barta at Pan Pacific Sonargaon in Dhaka.

Officials from the U.S. Treasury Department and the U.S. Justice Department will arrive separately this week for discussions.

British government officials and representatives of the World Bank’s StAR (Stolen Asset Recovery) initiative are also expected to take part in the discussions, he said.

The government aims to develop a road map, including possible bilateral agreements, to legally repatriate these funds, said Mansur, also a former International Monetary Fund economist.

He also plans to meet Singapore’s high commissioner to Bangladesh to ensure the city-state’s alignment with the recovery process.

“Should funds be siphoned abroad, we will work to establish our claims. We are doing everything possible to recover the money through legal channels. This will be done through bilateral and international legal procedures.”

Significant progress has already been made, he said.

“We’ve already cast a net.”

More than a few lakh crore taka were withdrawn from the banking sector through criminal activities, he said.

“There will be no collapse of the banking sector and we have stabilized the situation. Yes, some banks are not returning money to customers, but we are managing this through liquidity support. We must remember that we let’s try to restore the banking sector without compromising the macroeconomy.

BB encourages savers who have withdrawn their funds out of anxiety to hold onto their deposits again.

The caretaker government did not attempt to close any commercial organizations and the bank accounts of no commercial organizations were blocked, he said.

On BB’s decision to appoint a receiver for the ailing Beximco Group, Mansur said the move was aimed at keeping the conglomerate’s business afloat.

“Over the past few months, the salaries of Beximco employees have been largely covered by the government and this cannot continue. By appointing a receiver, we in government want to ensure that funds are not misused and that the export earnings come to Bangladesh. This way we can cover the business expenses and labor costs.

The primary goal is to preserve the value of the company and the government is working to keep the company alive, he said.

The central bank gave Tk 1,000 crore to Exim Bank just to pay the wages of garment workers.

“We are doing this so that no commercial organization closes its doors and workers do not resort to burning or vandalizing factories.”