ACC

Collected ACC Office

ACC writes to Foreign Ministry seeking list of Bangladeshis who own luxury flats and houses abroad

On January 11, the letter, signed by ACC Director General (Money Laundering) ANM Al Firoz, was sent to Masood bin Momen, Senior Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Asked about the letter, ACC Secretary Anwar said, "A letter has been sent to the Ministry of External Affairs about those who have been reported to have built homes with illegal assets in different countries, including Canada, Malaysia and Singapore. They will inform us through their respective agencies. A letter has been sent to them (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)."

He said the ministry has been requested to provide the information to the ACC as soon as possible.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen came to DRU's Meet the Press on November 18 and said that he had found out about the smuggling of money from Bangladesh to Canada.

He said that most of the people involved in money laundering were government employees. He also said that there are politicians and businessmen. However, he did not reveal anyone's name.

The High Court on November 22 wanted to know whether legal action had been taken against the money launderers and miscreants after various media reports came to light quoting his statement. Not satisfied with the response of the ACC in the hearing of that rule, the High Court directed the ACC to inquire where and how the money launderers are functioning abroad.

Earlier, the ACC had sent a letter to the foreign ministry in November seeking a list of Bangladeshis who had obtained citizenship through money laundering and investment.

The letter also sought to know about the foreign investment under the 'Second Home' project or the names of Bangladeshis who have appeared in the much-discussed Panama Papers and Paradise Papers.