Background and circumstances of the revelation
Decisive accusation and notification
– In October 2024, in an interview with the Financial Times (FT), Ahsan Mansur, the then newly appointed Governor of the Central Bank of Bangladesh, accused political dealers under the Sheikh Hasina administration of draining about $170 billion (a little over Tk 2 trillion) from Bangladeshi banks.
– Governor Mansur stated that the state’s intelligence agency (DGFI) had pressured bank managers to “forcefully” sell bank shares and management rights to some companies. He also reported that Mohammed Saiful Alam of the S Alam Group and others may have embezzled more than $1 billion in the form of loans to themselves.
– The unauthorized outflow is estimated at $17 billion (about $17 billion, Tk 2 trillion), and more than 10 major companies, administration officials, and relatives of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina are also included in the investigation.
2. investigation response and asset recovery
– Launch of Forensic Investigation
In January 2025, the Central Bank of Bangladesh retained the “Big 4” audit firms of EY, Deloitte, and KPMG to launch a forensic investigation simultaneously with an asset quality review of six banks
– At the same time, the Banking and Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) formed 11 joint investigation teams to assist in asset recovery and criminal prosecution.
– Management at the targeted banks were placed on administrative leave for the duration of the investigation and steps were taken to ensure that the investigation was not compromised.
– At this time (August 2025), no official investigation report has been released.
– Asset Track and judicial assistance is being provided by IU as progress is made in recovering funds and developing into criminal prosecution, but we are awaiting further announcements on the specific amount recovered and the nature of the charges.
– International Asset Tracking: Investigations are ongoing with regard to anti-money laundering, including legal proceedings against assets located overseas (Dubai, Singapore, UK, etc.).
Government funds should be used for the benefit of the people. It is all the people of Bangladesh who will suffer from the outflow of these funds, and those who will suffer the most are those living at the bottom of the pyramid. The only hope is that a forensic team from a major auditing firm has been assigned to this case. We hope that an independent and sufficient forensic investigation will be conducted to clarify the actual situation, and that the details will be made public, leading to a strict judicial decision.