9-member task force formed to recover laundered money

The Ministry of Finance has formed a nine-member task force, headed by the Governor of Bangladesh Bank, to recover laundered money. The formation of this committee was announced on Sunday through an official notification. Previously, the committee had 14 members, led by the Attorney General.

In addition to the Governor, the task force includes representatives from Bangladesh Bank, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Finance Division, the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the Attorney General's office, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs.

Earlier, Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, Finance Adviser, had announced the formation of this task force.

According to the latest report by Washington-based international organisation Global Financial Integrity (GFI), between 2009 and 2018, a total of $49.65 billion was laundered from Bangladesh under the guise of foreign trade. In local currency, this amounts to over 4 trillion taka.