Rosatom has rejected the news published and circulated in the media regarding illegal financial transactions in the Rooppur nuclear power project, calling it provocative. Rosatom has said that it is ready to approach the court to protect its own reputation and interests.

This claim was made in a statement by Rosatom on Tuesday (December 24).

The statement said that Rosatom is committed to ensuring open working methods, anti-corruption policies and transparency in procurement procedures in all its projects. Transparency in business processes is regularly ensured through external audits.

It also said that we consider the untrue information published and circulated in the media as an attempt to tarnish the Rooppur nuclear power project. This project is being implemented in the interest of solving the power shortage problem in Bangladesh and the welfare of the people.

It is worth noting that according to the plan, the first unit (1200 MW) of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant was supposed to be produced in 2023 and the second unit (1200 MW) in 2024. But the production date was postponed to December this year due to the substation and transmission line not being ready. Then, since the line was not ready, it could not go into production before March.

This most expensive project in the country's history is being financed by Russia. Russia has financed Tk. 93 thousand crore in this project worth Tk. 1 lakh 13 thousand crore.

There are 449 nuclear power plants in 30 countries of the world. The amount of electricity generated from them is about 12 percent of the total electricity generated. 65 more nuclear power plants are under construction in 14 countries. By 2025, the process of setting up 173 nuclear power plants is underway in 27 countries. Of these, 30 nuclear power plants are being built in new countries in the nuclear world, including Bangladesh. The most advantageous aspect of nuclear power is that its price will not fluctuate for 60 years. It is possible to get uninterrupted electricity for 60 years at the same price.

After a month and a half, the country's foreign exchange reserves have again reached 20 billion dollars.

Bangladesh Bank Spokesperson and Executive Director Husne Ara Shikha said this on Monday (December 23).

According to the latest data from the central bank, as of the 22nd of this month, the country's reserves are now 20 billion dollars according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) accounting system BPM-6.

Earlier, the foreign exchange reserves were 20 billion dollars on November 6. However, they gradually started decreasing and fell below 19 billion dollars in the first week of December.

In recent weeks, the price of the dollar started increasing due to the increase in imports. Banks had to spend a maximum of Tk. 127.70 to buy a dollar of remittances. The amount of dollars increased due to the high remittance flow. This helped banks relax restrictions on opening new LCs (letters of credit).

According to the central bank, imports grew by 1 percent from July to October of the current fiscal year, while the growth was negative 10 percent in the last fiscal year. It is worth noting that in the first 21 days of this December, remittances of 200 crore 72 lakh 30 thousand US dollars came into the country. And in the same period last November and October, remittances came in at 157 crore 50 lakh and 157 crore 29 lakh dollars respectively. The remittance flow increased in the first three weeks of December compared to October and November. 

Mohammed Saiful Alam, the founder and chairman of conglomerate S Alam Group has launched legal measures to address what he claims are losses caused by the interim government’s actions in freezing his assets and damaging his investments, reports the British newspaper Financial Times.

According to the report published on Monday (23 December), in a notice of dispute addressed to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and several of his close advisers, Mohammad Saiful Alam’s legal representatives warned that unless the dispute is resolved within six months, they will initiate international arbitration.

The legal notice cites a 2004 bilateral investment treaty between Bangladesh and Singapore, where the S Alam family has been based since renouncing their Bangladeshi citizenship in 2020; the family reportedly obtained permanent residency in Singapore in 2011 and citizenship between 2021 and 2023, according to FT.

In a letter dated 18 December, Mohammad Saiful Alam’s legal team, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, alleged that the family had been stripped of their rights to their companies and subjected to investigations without formal notice.

“The value of the investors’ investments has been destroyed, in whole or in part, through the acts and omissions of Bangladesh, its agencies and instrumentalities,” the letter stated.

Following the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, multiple allegations of financial malfeasance surfaced, including claims that Saiful Alam secured thousands of crores in bank loans through fraudulent entities tied to banks under his control.

The interim government has responded by launching investigations into these allegations, freezing the bank accounts of Saiful Alam and his family, imposing travel bans, and initiating legal actions.

It has also restricted the lending capabilities of S Alam-owned banks, replaced their management, and annulled several business deals, which, according to S Alam Group’s lawyers, was done “arbitrarily and without due process", added the FT.

In November, Mohammad Saiful Alam asserted that his and his family's Singaporean citizenship and an international investment agreement offer their enterprise protection against what he deemed as intimidation and undue pressure from the Bangladesh Bank.

This claim was highlighted in a formal letter sent by their legal representatives to the Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur, warning of legal recourse through an international arbitration court should their business interests suffer unjust harm.

In an interview with Financial Times in October, Dr Ahsan H Mansur accused Mohammad Saiful Alam and his associates of siphoning at least Tk1.2 trillion —equivalent to $10 billion from the Bangladesh Bank during the tenure of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

S Alam Group is on the brink of shutting down its factories due to its inability to import raw materials following the freezing of its bank accounts.

This group, painstakingly built over four decades by the collective efforts of entrepreneurs, workers, and officials, now faces a crisis threatening the jobs of over one lakh employees.

Economists and affected workers assert that keeping these factories operational could shield a large number of labourers from joblessness.

Finance Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed said that despite the International Monetary Fund (IMF) making various alarming statements, the country’s economic situation is not that bad, but there are challenges.

He said this while talking to reporters at the Secretariat on Thursday (December 19).

The adviser told reporters that despite your IMF delegation making various alarming statements, the country’s economic situation is not that bad, but there are challenges.

Earlier, at a press conference, IMF delegation chief Chris Papageorgiou, who is visiting Bangladesh, said that the economic picture of Bangladesh is not very promising. Inflation has not been under control for a long time, which is much higher than the IMF’s assumption.

He expressed concern over the continuous increase in food prices in the Bangladesh market. For this, the organization has advised the interim government to take effective initiatives to reduce commodity prices.

At the same time, Economic Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed said that no money will be allocated to pay wages to Beximco Group workers.

He said, it has already been decided that no money will be given to pay the wages of the group's workers. He further said, earlier, money was given to the wages of the Beximco Group workers. That money has also been transferred to the workers' bank accounts. If it was not given, they would have blocked the roads.

Earlier, the companies in the Beximco Industrial Park were laid off due to lack of orders and sufficient loan defaults in the name of the company in the bank.

Meanwhile, Energy and Power Adviser Fawzul Kabir Khan said that the government will approve new gas connections for industrial plants if they agree to pay a bill equal to the cost of LNG import.