Staff Correspondent

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus today sought Canada's support to recover money siphoned off from Bangladesh to the North American country.

He said hundreds of billions of dollars were stolen from Bangladesh by oligarchs, cronies, and politicians connected with the Sheikh Hasina dictatorship, and part of it was laundered to Canada, including in buying assets in Toronto's infamous "Begum Para" neighbourhood.

The chief adviser sought help to identify, freeze, and recover the assets during his meeting with Canadian High Commissioner in Dhaka Ajit Singh at the State guest House Jamuna here.

"They stole money from our people and bought assets in Begum Para. We need your help to recover the assets. It is the money of our people," Prof Yunus said.

The Canadian envoy appreciated the efforts of the Prof Yunus-led interim government to bring back the stolen money.

He assured Canada's support in response to the Chief Adviser's asset recovery efforts, noting that Canada has a "mechanism" to freeze siphoned off money for recovery from persons identified by the interim government to the government of Canada.

The Canadian ambassador also offered the country's support to interim government's reform initiatives in its transition to democracy.

"We support the great thing you are doing. We appreciate the progress that has been made. We are keen to know what we can do," Ajit Singh said.

He said Canada was keen to expand trade with Bangladesh and invest more in the country.

He added a Canadian minister would visit Bangladesh soon to discuss issues of mutual interest.

Prof Yunus recalled his meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. He said Dhaka needs more Canadian investment.

"Bangladesh is ready for business. We want to expand trade with your country, and we want Canadian companies to relocate their factories to Bangladesh," he said.

The chief adviser said many Bangladeshi people now live and study in Canada, and Ottawa should make a move to set up its visa office in Dhaka.

Lamiya Morshed, Senior Secretary and Principal Coordinator of SDG affairs, also attended the meeting.