The Bangladesh Bank has engaged accountancy firms EY, Deloitte, and KPMG to conduct an "asset quality review" of banks that, according to bank governor Ahsan Mansur, lost $17 billion due to transactions involving businesspeople close to the regime of former leader Sheikh Hasina.In an interview with the Financial Times, Mansur revealed that the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit had also established 11 joint investigation teams tasked with tracking and reclaiming assets believed to have been purchased with funds siphoned from the banks, as well as prosecuting those responsible. Mansur, who was appointed central bank governor by interim national leader Muhammad Yunus following Sheikh Hasina’s departure to India in August, said the investigations would target 10 leading Bangladeshi businesses, along with the former leader and her relatives.
The three international accounting firms have already started their work on the asset quality review. "We will assess how assets are performing, who’s not performing, and who took those assets, while simultaneously conducting a forensic audit," Mansur explained.
KPMG confirmed that its Sri Lankan branch had been contracted for the review. EY and Deloitte did not respond to requests for comment.
Mansur, a former IMF official, has been tasked with stabilizing Bangladesh’s economy and recovering an estimated Tk2 trillion ($16.4 billion) "robbed" from banks during the 15 years that Hasina and her Awami League party were in power.
In a previous interview in October, Mansur told the Financial Times that several leading banks had been taken over with the help of the country’s military intelligence agency, sometimes "at gunpoint."
The asset review is focused on six banks, five of which are linked to S Alam Group, a conglomerate led by Singapore-based Bangladeshi tycoon Mohammed Saiful Alam. Mansur stated that the former managing directors of these banks had been asked to take leaves of absence to ensure the review process remains unhindered.
Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission recently filed charges against several individuals, including two of Alam’s sons, accusing them of embezzling Tk11.3 billion in loan fraud. A Dhaka court has ordered the seizure of several properties in connection with the case.
Alam’s legal team, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, maintains that neither Alam nor the investors in his conglomerate have committed any wrongdoing and are prepared to take legal action to protect their investments in Bangladesh. They also suggested that Mansur’s position was conflicted due to his role in the Yunus government’s banking sector reforms.
Alam’s lawyers also denied allegations of money laundering, calling them "baseless," and emphasized their readiness to launch international arbitration if the dispute with Dhaka is not resolved.
In an effort to trace and recover funds allegedly taken out of the country, the Yunus government has sought international assistance, including from the UK's International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre and the US Treasury. The US Treasury is offering technical support as Bangladesh prepares to request formal legal assistance from other countries.
The resignation this month of UK City minister Tulip Siddiq, a Labour Party MP and niece of Sheikh Hasina, has been viewed as a significant step in the broader effort to reclaim missing money. Siddiq resigned after being named in two ongoing anti-corruption investigations in Bangladesh and facing allegations of benefiting from properties linked to her aunt’s Awami League.
Siddiq’s spokesperson denied the claims, stating that no evidence had been presented against her. Mansur expressed hope that public pressure would encourage further international support and political accountability within Bangladesh. "We are encouraged by the response from the international community," he said, adding that politicians would likely be under increased pressure to support the cause.Source: Financial Times