The British delegation assured the Anti-Corruption Commission of Bangladesh of assistance in bringing back laundered money from the United Kingdom to Bangladesh.
The assurance was made during a meeting at ACC headquarters on Sunday between the ACC and a four-member delegation from the British High Commission, said ACC officials.
The interim government chief adviser鈥檚 office in a recent statement said that the amount of laundered money could be over Tk 1 lakh crore during the past three terms of the Awami league government.
The UK is one of the destination countries of the laundered money from Bangladesh as a huge number of Bangladeshis are staying in the UK, said ACC officials.
A recent Al Jazeera report revealed that Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, a former Bangladesh land minister and a close ally of now deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, bought over 360 luxury properties in Britain alone worth $250 million.
On August 18, the ACC decided to conduct an inquiry against Saifuzzaman Chowdhury over allegations of amassing illegal wealth and laundered money in the UK.
After the ACC meeting with the UK delegation, ACC director general for prevention Md Akhtar Hossain told reporters that they discussed cooperation over the recovery of laundered money from the UK at the meeting.
The delegation included First Secretary for Political Affairs Doyin Adele-Shiyabola, Head of Political and Governance Timothy Duckett, and NCA International Liaison Officers Peter Vernon and Hannah Ridley.
Besides, Michael Petkov, deputy head of the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre and intelligence Manager at the National Crime Agency, joined the meeting virtually from the UK.
The discussions focused on strengthening the commission鈥檚 capacity, with particular emphasis on preventing money laundering and recovering stolen assets.
During the meeting, the ACC also briefed the delegation on its ongoing efforts and operations to fight corruption.
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