Drive on to retrieve funds laundered abroad by Sheikh Hasina's loyalists

Shafiqul Alam, Press Secretary to the interim government's Chief Adviser Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus told at a press conference around two weeks ago that special laws are about to be enacted to facilitate the retrieval of the mammoth sums of money which were laundered to foreign countries during last 15 years by Sheikh Hasina's family members and her loyalist business groups.

The White Paper on Bangladesh's all out economic portrait which was handed over to the Chief Adviser a few months ago revealed that every year 16 billion US dollars were siphoned away from Bangladesh to overseas locations from the country's banking system and financial institutions. During overthrown Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's tenure from 2009 to 2024 nearly all state-run and private banks, leasing companies, insurance companies and stock markets were brazenly manipulated by a vicious syndicate consisting of Salman F. Rahman, S. Alam, Nazrul Islam Mazumder and Aziz Khan.

Salman F. Rahman and Nazrul Islam Mazumder were arrested following Sheikh Hasina's runaway to India in August 2024 though Aziz Khan and S. Alam have been absconding since then. Besides these financial thugs, names of some close family members of Sheikh Hasina also emerged through investigations by Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) and Crime Investigation Department (CID).    Sheikh Hasina's niece Tulip Siddiq (Sheikh Rehana's daughter) had to step down from her parliamentarian and ministerial posts in the United Kingdom when corruption allegations about her got exposed through local and international media agencies. Sheikh Hasina's children Saima Wazed Putul and Sajeeb Wazed Joy are also facing grievous connivance complaints with corrupted bank owners, dishonest industrialists and business magnates.

Beximco Group, Nassa Group, S. Alam Group and Summit Group are the most notorious business groups which ravaged and plundered money in every unethical way from banks, financial institutions, share markets and mega projects during Sheikh Hasina's ruling period. Corruption and financial frauds by Nazrul Islam Mazumder, S. Alam and Aziz Khan appeared in investigative reports in a broad number of newspapers even while Sheikh Hasina was in power but no action was taken because these bandits were as close as hand in glove with Sheikh Hasina.

The above financial culprits abused their power in so formidable ways that they persuaded a special spy agency to force newspapers and online news portals to remove corruption reports from websites. Bangladesh interim government has meanwhile requested India to repatriate Sheikh Hasina to Bangladesh to face trial for her alleged corruption, human rights violations, genocides and enforced disappearances.

Similarly, filthy rich people who were head over heels stalwarts of Sheikh Hasina from 2009 to 2024 also have been meanwhile nabbed and the rest of these chaps have gone into hiding as soon as Sheikh Hasina was dethroned.