Laundered fund recovery may take 4-5 years: BB Governor

Bangladesh Bank will legally challenge a petition filed by the controversial business conglomerate S Alam Group at the World Bank’s arbitration body, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed at the Secretariat, the governor said S Alam has claimed to be a Singaporean national, a claim Bangladesh Bank will challenge.

“We will prove that he is a Bangladeshi citizen. He served as chairman and director of several banks in Bangladesh,” Dr Mansur said, adding that the central bank would challenge the case legally.

“It will take 4-5 years to recover laundered funds,” the BB governor noted.

The remark came after a meeting on preventing money laundering and recovering laundered funds, held at the Secretariat with Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed in the chair.