PM In House
Agreements Being Inked with 10 Countries to Repatriate Laundered Money
Photo: PMO
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has announced that initiatives have been taken to bring back laundered money from abroad. As part of this process, ten prime countries have been initially identified for signing bilateral agreements.
The head of government shared this information in the National Parliament on Wednesday afternoon.
During the scheduled question-and-answer session for the Prime Minister, Kamruzzaman Ratan, Member of Parliament for Munshiganj-3, sought to know the government's progress on repatriating smuggled funds. In response, Tarique Rahman said according to the White Paper Committee of the interim government, an estimated $234 billion was illegally siphoned out of the country between 2009 and 2023. Since this money has been moved to multiple destinations, efforts are being strengthened with the respective countries regarding information exchange, asset identification, and mutual legal assistance to recover the funds.
To achieve this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working closely on Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLAT). Malaysia, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates have already expressed their consent to sign the deals. The Prime Minister also said that discussions are ongoing with seven other countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Thailand, Singapore, and China.
The Prime Minister’s written statement further mentioned that an inter-agency task force has been formed under the chairmanship of the Bangladesh Bank Governor. In addition to setting priorities, this task force has formed 11 joint teams comprising the police and various anti-corruption agencies for inquiry and investigation.
The head of government also spoke regarding health policy, stating that under the "Health for All" principle, ensuring Universal Health Coverage and providing citizens with dignified and respectful healthcare are being given special importance. At the same time, the government is determined to ensure quality healthcare in remote areas. Action plans have already been adopted for the development of medical infrastructure, increasing manpower, and supplying modern medical equipment.
Earlier, the parliamentary session began at 3:00 PM under the chairmanship of Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, starting with throwing questions to the PM.
