Efforts are on to bring back laundered money of BNP leaders: PM

  • Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the government is trying to bring back money laundered by BNP leaders in different countries. She said that many leaders have accumulated money (in foreign banks). We are slowly trying to bring them back.

Sheikh Hasina made these remarks while addressing a meeting of the Awami League-led 14-party alliance at her official residence Ganobhaban on Wednesday (July 19) evening.

বিজ্ঞাপন

Criticizing the 'corruption' of BNP leader Khaleda Zia's family, she said that the World Bank stopped funding during BNP's regime due to corruption in the road sector.

The Prime Minister said that foreigners and one FBI agent had testified against Khaleda Zia's two sons, Tariq Rahman and Arafat Rahman, in the money laundering case.

বিজ্ঞাপন

She said that the government has recovered Tk. 40 crore from their (Tareek Rahman and Arafat Rahman Koko) laundered abroad. "But the problem is that it is difficult to get money back from the country where they deposited it. Countries don't want to give up money.

Highlighting the success of her government, the Prime Minister said that Bangladesh has progressed significantly in every sector since 2009 during the tenure of her government.

She said, we can at least claim that Bangladesh has changed a lot in the last 14 and a half years. You must realize it. Sheikh Hasina said her government has successfully brought down the poverty rate from 41 percent in 2006 to 18.6 percent and extreme poverty rate from 25.1 percent to 5.7 percent.

She said that the government has been able to increase the production of food including crops, fish, meat and vegetables. Besides, 6 lakh landless families have been given semi-furnished houses for free. The power generation capacity has been significantly increased to provide electricity to every home.

She said, we have increased the power generation capacity to 25 thousand megawatts in 14 and a half years. The Prime Minister said that there is no shortage of rice and other crops in Bangladesh.

Pointing out that the government is setting up 100 special economic zones to create employment, the prime minister said the unemployment rate in the country has come down to only 3 percent.

She said that the government has continued the steps to create entrepreneurship by providing various incentive packages and training to the youth to further reduce the unemployment rate.

She said, we have done extensive work and implemented not only the infrastructural development of Bangladesh, but also its socio-economic development. Sheikh Hasina said, Bangladesh is considered as a role model for development in the whole world today.