BB aims to raise $100m to recover laundered assets

Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Ahsan H Mansur aims to raise $100 million from global litigation funders to finance asset recovery from business and political figures tied to the regime of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina by 2025.

A litigation funder is a third party that provides financial support to a litigant to cover legal costs associated with a lawsuit, in exchange for a share of the potential financial recovery from the case.

The central bank governor recently met with leading global litigation firms in London and discussed a roadmap to achieve his goal of mobilising $100 million in litigation funding to finance 30 asset recovery cases.

According to a statement from the central bank, Ahsan H Mansur visited London from June 10 to June 13 as a part of the Chief Advisor's delegation.

The BB governor held a number of meetings in support of key policy issues.

Mansur and other members of the delegation visited the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) and met several senior officials, including Daniel Murphy, head of the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre (IACCC).

The governor expressed his appreciation for the ongoing support and close collaboration the IACCC has provided to Bangladesh's Asset Recovery Taskforce, including technical assistance for the 11 Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) formed to investigate the 11 priority asset recovery cases.

He also thanked the NCA for freezing £170 million worth of properties belonging to former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed in the UK.

This followed a £90 million asset freeze last month targeting Shayan Rahman and Shariar Rahman of Beximco Group.

The governor expressed hope for deeper collaboration with the NCA and IACCC in the future.

He noted that the UK's decision to take the lead with an aggregate £250 million in asset freezes would inspire other major money-laundering destination countries to take similar action in support of Bangladesh's asset recovery efforts, showed the BB statement.

Following the NCA visit, the governor was the chief guest at an asset recovery roundtable hosted by leading global law firm DLA Piper.

The event was attended by major litigation funders such as Omni Bridgeway and Benchwalk Capital, as well as investigation firms including Alvarez & Marsal and Unitas Global, a sovereign advisory and strategic communications firm.

Several participants emphasised the need to quickly sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with Bangladesh Bank and individual banks to facilitate data sharing on non-performing loans (NPLs) and initiate the asset-tracing and legal recovery process.

The governor also expressed support for a suggestion made by roundtable attendees to establish a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to pursue legal claims in key target countries such as the UK and Singapore.

This would help institutionalise the asset recovery process and make it more resilient to political change.

Additionally, Mansur met with BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, to update them on the improving macroeconomic outlook of Bangladesh and to encourage increased investment in the banking sector and capital markets.

He also met with the mayor of London and leading fintech companies to discuss deeper investment and collaboration between London and Bangladesh's financial sector.

The governor extended an invitation for the mayor to visit Bangladesh at his earliest convenience.

The governor also held meetings with several money exchange houses in London to better understand how to streamline the remittance process and sustain the strong momentum in remittance growth, the BB statement showed.