Freeze assets laundered by Bangladeshis: TIB

 
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), along with four other international anti-corruption organisations, has asked the governments to urgently freeze assets and funds laundered from Bangladesh.

In a press release on Tuesday, TIB said it called on countries including the United Kingdom, United States, Switzerland, European Union member states, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates to urgently freeze illegal assets owned by Bangladeshi nationals.

This request marks the first step towards the recovery of these assets, according to the statement.

The joint letter, signed by Transparency International UK, UK Anti-Corruption Coalition, International Lawyers Project, Spotlight on Corruption, and TIB was sent to Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Aug 30.

The letter appealed for a collaborative effort to ensure accountability for those holding illegal assets and to support Bangladesh in building a corruption-free, transparent, accountable, and democratic future.

The heads of the organisations also urged the Bangladesh government to actively engage in recovering the assets. TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said, "All countries to which assets have been illicitly transferred are our development, trade, and investment partners and they are committed to fighting corruption both nationally and internationally."