DHAKA, May 19, (V7N) – Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur stated that recovering laundered money and assets from abroad within a year is feasible if the process is expedited, particularly through asset freezing.

"Generally, four to five years are required to complete the legal procedures to bring back the laundered money. But some intermediate measures like freezing the assets could be done,” he said, adding “it may take one year or less than one year time.”

Governor Mansur made these remarks at a press briefing held at the Foreign Service Academy following a meeting on the progress of recovering laundered funds. The meeting, chaired by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, took place at the State Guest House Jamuna.

Mansur explained, "To do so, the legal procedures must be completed in Bangladesh, and then the mutual legal assistances (MLAs) should be sent abroad in a proper way."

"We are on this process now. We are sending the request. And if we get this assistance from foreigners, we will be able to freeze the laundered assets," he said.

He further elaborated that once the assets are frozen, the legal process will commence in foreign courts, which typically takes four to five years to conclude.

The government has already engaged with numerous foreign institutions to seek their cooperation in repatriating the laundered funds, he noted.

He also mentioned that the government is sending MLAs to various countries to request the freezing of money siphoned off from Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh Bank governor stated that today's meeting addressed the management of seized funds deposited in different banks and seized shares of various banks and companies.

He added that they also discussed measures to protect the interests of depositors whose money was misappropriated from banks.

The central bank governor revealed that Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus will be visiting the United Kingdom and will prioritize the money laundering issue during his trip, which was also a topic of discussion in today's meeting.

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