The government is restructuring the task force for the repatriation of funds illegally stolen abroad

The interim government today restructured a multi-agency task force tasked with retrieving money illegally taken abroad.

Under the leadership of the governor of the Bangladesh Bank, the nine-member task force has started its work with immediate effect, the finance ministry said in a statement.

The previous task force was headed by the Attorney General and was formed by the immediate past Awami League government on January 15 last year.

According to a press statement issued late last month by the office of the interim government’s chief adviser, the amount of money illegally transferred abroad is believed to be over Tk 100,000 crore.

According to Global Financial Integrity (GFI), in 2021, Bangladesh lost about $8.27 billion annually between 2009 and 2018 due to traders misaccounting the value of import-export goods to avoid taxes and illegal money was transported across international borders.

The task force will identify funds and assets illegally transferred abroad and support those affected in the investigation, the Ministry of Finance announced yesterday.

The panel will identify obstacles to speedy resolution of relevant cases and take measures to address the bottlenecks, it said.

The task force will also take initiatives to quickly recover the money from foreign countries and take measures to manage seized or confiscated assets, it said.

The task force will include representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Financial Institutions, the Ministry of Justice, the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Criminal Investigation Department, the Attorney General’s Office, the Customs Intelligence Service and the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, it said.

According to the statement, the panel will also contact local and foreign authorities to recover the money from abroad.