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Agence France-Presse

Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday demanded the return of stolen assets, decrying the scale of corruption under the ousted government of Sheikh Hasina, toppled by a revolution last year.
Hasina, 77, fled a revolution in August 2024 to neighbouring India, where she has defied extradition requests from Bangladesh to face charges including mass murder.
“The theft of billions of dollars in public funds has left Bangladesh with a significant financial deficit,” Yunus said in a statement.
“The funds stolen from Bangladesh belong to its people. We will continue to work with our international partners to ensure that justice is done.”
Yunus said he expected “assets to be returned”, adding that the stolen funds have “not only robbed the people of Bangladesh, but also disrupted the country’s progress towards economic stability”.

Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is investigating Hasina and her wider family, including her niece, British lawmaker and anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq.
Siddiq on Tuesday resigned from her position, but repeated her denial that she had done anything wrong.
The ACC’s investigation of Hasina’s family is linked to the embezzlement of US$5 billion connected to a Russian-funded nuclear power plant, as well as an alleged land grab of lucrative plots in a suburb of the capital Dhaka.
An investigation by British newspaper the Sunday Times revealed details about the claims Siddiq spent years living in a London flat bought by an offshore company connected to two Bangladeshi businessmen.
The flat was eventually transferred as a gift to a Bangladeshi lawyer with links to Hasina, her family and her ousted government, according to the newspaper.
It also reported Siddiq and her family were given or used several other London properties bought by members or associates of Hasina’s Awami League party.
“Tulip Siddiq may not have fully understood the origins of the money and properties she enjoyed in London,” Yunus said.
“However, now that she knows, she should seek forgiveness from the people of Bangladesh.”


Bangladesh demands return of billions stolen under Sheikh Hasina

UK anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq resigns over ties to ousted Bangladesh PM

UK’s Starmer urged to fire minister hit by Bangladesh corruption investigation

India’s growing rift with Bangladesh echoes its Pakistan tensions

Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus in the former official residence of Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka last year. Photo: Press Wing of Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser / AFP 

Sheikh Hasina pictured in January last year, before her ousting as Bangladesh’s prime minister. Photo: AP 

Hindu activists burn an effigy of Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser of Bangladesh, in Amritsar, India, on December 27. Photo: AFP

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) shakes hand with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina  in New Delhi last year, before her ousting. Photo: AP 

Indian border forces inspect a truck carrying supplies to Bangladesh at the India-Bangladesh border last year. Photo: AFP

Hindu activists burn a poster of Bangladesh interim government chief Muhammad Yunus during a protest in Kolkata last month. Photo: EPA-EFE

Why India is unlikely to extradite ousted Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina checks her watch as she waits for the official opening time to cast her vote in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on January 7, 2024. Photo: AP

A student shouts slogans as demonstrators wave Bangladesh’s national flag during a Martyr March to mark one month since the ousting of Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka on September 5, 2024. Photo: AFP

Some students, who protested against Sheikh Hasina’s “misrule”, marked her birthday by throwing shoes at a caricatured image of her, on September. 28, 2024. Photo: Shaikh Azizur Rahman

Anti-Hasina graffiti is seen on a wall in Dhaka, drawn by students during the July to August protests. Photo: Shaikh Azizur Rahman

With ousting of Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina, is India losing its South Asia allies to China?

Indian Border Security Force officers stand guard at the Petrapole-Benapole border between India and Bangladesh on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFE

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck during their meeting at the Tashichho Dzong Palace in Bhutan’s capital Thimphu in March. Photo: by Indian Press Information Bureau (PIB) / AFP

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) shakes hands with Mohamed Muizzu, the Maldives’ president, during a swearing-in ceremony in New Delhi, India, on June 9. Modi was sworn in for a third straight term as India’s prime minister in June. Photo: Bloomberg

News

Asia

South Asia

Interim leader Muhammad Yunus said on Wednesday that the people of Bangladesh had been robbed and its future disrupted by the theft


Interim leader Muhammad Yunus said on Wednesday that the people of Bangladesh had been robbed and its future disrupted by the theft.


Protests around the world

Corruption in Asia