UK MPs suspect disinformation targeting BB governor

British MPs suspect they may have been targeted by a "disinformation" campaign aimed at discrediting Ahsan Mansur, the Bangladesh Bank governor, who is leading the efforts to trace funds allegedly laundered from Bangladesh into the UK,  British newspaper The Guardian reported.

According to the report published yesterday, MPs raised concerns after receiving emails containing articles questioning Mansur's credibility ahead of a session today with the 47-member all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on responsible tax and corruption.

Ahsan Mansur, a former IMF official, has been in London seeking assistance from the UK government and private firms to track billions of dollars allegedly siphoned off by allies of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, some of which he believes may have been used to buy UK property, said the report.

His visit comes amid a growing controversy involving Hasina's niece, former UK city minister Tulip Siddiq, who resigned this year after Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against her.

MPs are now concerned that efforts to assist Bangladesh's anti-corruption drive could be hindered by an apparent smear campaign against the BB governor, including articles published on a website called International Policy Digest by individuals with no verifiable journalistic background.

The Guardian found that the authors' images were stock photos.

The emails, sent to the 47-strong APPG, by a sender claiming to be a journalist, sent links to a website International Policy Digest, featuring articles about apparent displays of wealth by Mansur's daughter and questioning why she was not being investigated.

Mansur, who previously lived and worked in Washington, said he believed that people under investigation for money laundering were trying to "diminish my reputation and target me in various ways", reported The Guardian.

Mansur dismissed the claims, stating that his daughter, a US citizen, had little connection to Bangladesh, the report said.

One APPG member Rupa Huq received an email from a UK public relations firm, Palatine Communications, also linking to International Policy Digest, it said.

The message suggested that if Mansur was willing to "impugn the integrity of Tulip Siddiq," he and his family should also be scrutinised.

Mansur said he had never made any comments about Siddiq.

He is a key figure in the transitional government led by Muhammad Yunus, whose ACC accused Siddiq, along with her family members, amid an investigation into a 2013 deal with Russia that allegedly overinflated the price of a nuclear power plant, the report said.

Rupa described the email as "highly unusual" and compared it to previous attempts to intimidate MPs speaking about Bangladesh in parliament. She said both instances appeared to be efforts to "interfere with parliament and MPs' normal work".

APPG members have reportedly referred the emails to parliamentary cyber security advisers and the parliamentary foreign affairs committee.

"If it is the case that this communication is an attempt to mislead UK politicians when it comes to a very serious corruption scandal, then I think we should be very concerned," said APPG member Phil Brickell.

"I urge the relevant parliamentary authorities to investigate thoroughly – we must get to the bottom of who paid for this, and why, in order to understand how we can best protect ourselves."

A spokesperson for Palatine Communications said, "Our client instructions are confidential. In sending the email in question, we acted on our own initiative. We have nothing to do with, and know nothing of, the authorship of this article, but nor did we ever claim it represented the gospel truth.

"Like numerous articles from many media outlets, it raises legitimate concerns about the current situation in Bangladesh that we believe are worthy of MPs' consideration."

A spokesperson for International Policy Digest said the person who had actually written the articles had "wished to remain anonymous", adding that they were confident that the content was "fairly accurate".