$234bn siphoned off throughout Hasina rule, some to India: Bangladesh white paper

A white paper submitted to the caretaker authorities of Bangladesh claims $234 billion was siphoned off from Bangladesh throughout the rule of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and among the cash was routed by and to India. The white paper is seen as an try by the Muhammad Yunus-led authorities to indicate that it inherited a tattered financial system.

“It’s going to present us the financial system we inherited after the July-August mass rebellion,” Yunus stated whereas receiving the report from Debapriya Bhattacharya, the chairman of the committee tasked with discovering the standing of Bangladesh’s financial system.

A number of Bangladeshi media shops on Monday reported on the contents of the white paper, which was offered to Yunus. The report, referred to as the ‘White Paper on State of Bangladesh Economic system’ shall be made public on Monday, December 2.

The $234 billion was laundered to or routed through India, the UAE, the UK, Canada, the US, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and different tax havens. The cash was laundered between 2009 and 2023, when a Hasina-led Awami League authorities was in energy, The Each day Star reported, citing the white paper.

As much as $24 billion of the $60 billion invested within the Annual Improvement Programme and different improvement initiatives throughout the Hasina regime “has been misplaced to political extortion, bribery and inflated budgets”, the Dhaka-based The Enterprise Customary quoted sources on the white paper committee as saying.

The white paper on financial system additionally revealed that building prices of infrastructure initiatives in Bangladesh are considerably larger than these of regional counterparts, together with India, but the standard of infrastructure is relatively decrease, based on a report on the Dhaka-based The Enterprise Customary.

The committee was arrange on August 28, and was tasked with giving a transparent image of Bangladesh’s financial system throughout the Hasina regime, which opposition leaders have been accusing of rampant corruption and crony capitalism.

The committee that authored the white paper was led by economist Debapriya Bhattacharya. He’s additionally a distinguished fellow of the Dhaka-based suppose tank Centre for Coverage Dialogue, based on a Each day Star report.

The white paper revealed that the banking sector was the worst hit amongst all different sectors that the committee appeared into. The Dhaka-based Enterprise Customary additionally reported that 10 banks have been “technically bankrupt and illiquid”.

“We selected 10 distressed banks to dig into their solvency and liquidity. Of the ten banks, two are state-owned banks that have been largely hit by scams within the final decade,” it stated, quoting components of the white paper. “The opposite eight are extraordinarily weak shariah-based banks and standard non-public industrial banks.”

Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh on August 5, after a month’s protest that noticed a whole lot useless.

What began as an anti-quota agitation by college students became a nationwide protest demanding that Hasina resign from the prime minister’s publish.

Hasina is presently in a safehouse in New Delhi.

Bangladesh descended into weeks of chaos after the autumn of the Hasina regime, and witnessed focused assaults on minorities, together with Hindus.

The military-backed Yunus authorities is attempting to carry some semblance of legislation and order in Bangladesh, the place college students, who have gotten a style of road protests, are appearing as paramilitary personnel.

Bangladesh had developed economically throughout the 15 years of the Hasina regime, particularly on the again of a strong garment trade. Thousands and thousands have been pulled out of poverty.

Nevertheless, parts of the Awami League and Hasina’s shut circle have been accused of blatant corruption and siphoning off cash.