Staff Correspondent

Reiterating interim government’s priority to bring back stolen money from abroad, Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam on Sunday said they are getting overwhelming response from all those countries where the government suspects that stolen money might go.

“We won’t talk about any specific country but we are contacting with all….we would say we are getting overwhelming support and cooperation,” he said while responding to a question during a media briefing at the Foreign Service Academy.

Alam said they are working on these issues and a taskforce is working under the leadership of the Bangladesh Bank Governor.

“We are first looking at how to bring the money back. This is our top priority,” he said, adding that it was unlimited when they talked about stolen money.

The Press Secretary said they need to detect and trace first where the stolen money was kept.

He said they are looking into how the money was siphoned off and in which account. “We are doing whatever needs to be done for that. We have reconstituted the Anti-Corruption Commission. We have strengthened the Central Bank. The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit has been strengthened,” he said.

Alam said they are contacting the countries where the stolen money might go and the government is informing those countries that they should cooperate with the interim government. “We are getting that support from everyone. We are communicating with everyone,” he said.

CA’s Deputy Press Secretaries Apurba Jahangir, Abul Kalam Azad Majumder and Assistant Press Secretary Suchismita Tithi were also present.