Anti-Corruption NGOs demand action on stolen Bangladeshi assets

A group of anti-corruption NGOs has written to Foreign Secretary David Lammy urging the UK government to take swift action to identify, seize and return assets stolen from the people of Bangladesh by corrupt officials.

Among the letter’s three key recommendations are a surge in resources for the National Crime Agency’s International Corruption Unit to allow it to prioritise this urgent work, greater external help for the interim government of Bangladesh to allow its institutions to identify stolen assets, and collaboration with key allies of the UK to identify targets for potential sanctions and visa bans.

Iftekhar Zaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh, said:

Most of the countries where corrupt money and assets from Bangladesh have been laundered to are among our development, trade and investment partners who are committed to fighting corruption nationally and internationally. Now is the time for them to take such commitments to a new level of effectiveness by immediate necessary actions to freeze illegal assets owned by all Bangladeshi individuals and entities in their respective jurisdictions. We particularly call upon governments of UK, USA, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, EU countries as well as Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and UAE to freeze such assets as the step to repatriate the same to Bangladesh and hold the perpetrators to account.”

Susan Hawley, Executive Director of Spotlight on Corruption, said:

The UK really needs to put its money where its mouth is when it comes to helping developing countries like Bangladesh track down stolen assets that the UK is harbouring, and to ensuring accountability of corrupt actors. By bolstering anti-corruption efforts at this crucial moment for Bangladesh, the UK could play a decisive role in ensuring the country achieve the secure democratic and inclusive future that the UK has promised to help it achieve.

Duncan Hames, Director of Policy at Transparency International UK, said:

We know that Bangladeshi politicians with unexplained wealth and members of the business elite accused of wrongdoing have significant asset portfolios here in the UK and abroad. The British government should now work closely with allies around the world and civil society within Bangladesh to introduce a sanctions regime which freezes the assets of these corrupt figures and their enablers, ensuring they do not enjoy their ill-gotten gains.

A copy of the letter sent to the Secretary of State, the Rt Hon. David Lammy MP is below.

Update (09/10): We have received a response to our letter from Catherine West MP, Minister for the Indo-Pacific at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. You can read her letter below.