Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur has accused business tycoons with ties to the former administration of Sheikh Hasina of collaborating with members of the military intelligence agency to siphon approximately $17 billion from the banking sector during her tenure.
In an interview with the UK's Financial Times newspaper, Ahsan H Mansur alleged that the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) had facilitated coerced takeovers of major banks.
He estimated that around Tk 2lakh crore, equivalent to $16.7 billion, was funnelled out of Bangladesh following these acquisitions, utilising methods such as loans issued to new shareholders and inflated import invoices.
"This is the largest, most significant bank robbery by any international standard," Mansur declared.
"It hasn't happened on this scale anywhere else, and it was state-sponsored. This could not have occurred without intelligence officers applying pressure on former bank CEOs."
"Every day, they were granting loans to themselves," Mansur remarked during the interview.
