TDS Desk:

Transparency International US and Transparency International Bangladesh have said the US can show its genuine partnership by playing a proactive role in helping the people of Bangladesh recover the assets that rightly belong to them and that are so desperately needed to rebuild its future.

They have written to the US Secretary of State and US Secretary of the Treasury seeking urgent action to support a transparent, accountable, inclusive, and democratic future for Bangladesh.

In their letter to Secretary Anthony Blinken and Secretary Janet Yellen, Transparency International U.S Executive Director Gary Kalman and TIB Executive Director Iftekhar Zaman said as a long-standing partner of Bangladesh, the US can offer timely support at this crucial time in Bangladesh’s history.

They called upon the US government to provide critical support to the interim Bangladeshi government to address corruption and money laundering in the following ways:

1 The U.S. government can investigate whether any assets looted by any Bangladeshi individual or company are recoverable property in the U.S. and act swiftly to impose property and account freezing orders as the first step to facilitate their forfeiture and repatriation to Bangladesh and hold the perpetrators to account.

2 The US government could offer expertise, including from forensic accountants, lawyers and law enforcement to support reforms and capacity building of Bangladesh’s relevant institutions like the Anti-Corruption Commission, Financial Intelligence Unit, Criminal Investigation Department, National Board of Revenue and Attorney General’s Office, so that they can identify stolen assets, build a robust evidence base for freezing these assets, and facilitate swift law enforcement action to recover them.

3 The US government could work with the governments of the UK, Canada, Australia, EU, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and UAE (particularly Dubai), and with the interim government, and in-country experts, including civil society within Bangladesh, to identify key targets for imposing financial sanctions and visa bans.

To further geopolitical and economic objectives, the US has built close ties with Bangladesh, reads the letter dated September 10.

The US is its largest foreign investor and largest export country destination.

The US relies on Bangladesh to assist with regional security efforts and efforts to counter terrorism, they said.

As such, in recent years, the U.S. has strongly supported efforts to move Bangladesh toward a more open

and democratic society, engaging a variety of tools from trade incentives to sanctions of corrupt public officials.

Wednesday, they said Bangladesh is experiencing a pivotal moment in its history.

“Peaceful student protests against certain discriminatory policies have grown into people’s uprising against increasing levels of inequality and corruption attributed to the previous government of Bangladesh.”

The ensuing brutal crackdown by the law enforcement agencies has left over 1000 dead.

Now, serious evidence regarding the misappropriation of state assets by former Bangladeshi officials and their allies is being unearthed.

“These assets ultimately belong to the people of Bangladesh, which is why we write to urge the U.S. government to identify and move to seize any such assets in the US,” the letter reads.

The process to recover those assets should begin quickly so that the funds can help Bangladesh build a more transparent, accountable, democratic and inclusive future.

“Corruption allegations involving former ministers, bankers, senior public officials, the armed forces, and police are overwhelming,” said the Executive Directors of the two organisations.