The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) and Joint Inquiry Team (JIT) are intensifying efforts to recover $234 billion laundered during former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s tenure, focusing on 11 priority cases involving Hasina, her family, and related entities.

Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam outlined the action plans at a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy on Bailey Road, Dhaka, on Sunday, March 9, citing outcomes from a recent meeting.

The strategy includes identifying illegal assets domestically and abroad, issuing Mutual Legal Assistance Requests (MLAR) and Letters Rogatory (LR) to foreign authorities, freezing or seizing illicit assets, presenting evidence in court, expediting judicial processes, and repatriating recovered funds.

The government is collaborating with the World Bank’s Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (STAR), the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Center (IACCC), the US Department of Justice (DOJ), and the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR).

Beyond these cases, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), National Board of Revenue (NBR), and other agencies are probing additional laundering incidents.

For cases involving Tk 200 crore or more siphoned abroad, the government plans to engage experienced international law firms and litigation funds.

“The BFIU is gathering data from banks, and some firms have already reached out,” Shafiqul said, adding that a fixed fee will be deducted from recovered sums post-litigation.