Bangladesh seizes $6.2b in assets linked to ex-PM Sheikh Hasina

Dhaka: Bangladesh has confiscated assets worth 760 billion taka (about $6.2 billion) linked to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her family and 10 business groups, authorities said Wednesday.

Since Hasina was toppled in a student-led mass uprising in 2024 and fled to India, authorities have investigated the former prime minister's wealth and looked into her relatives and major business groups accused of benefiting during her 15-year, iron-fisted rule.

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit said it had seized assets worth 570 billion taka in Bangladesh and another 190 billion taka overseas.

The agency's chief Ikhtiar Mohammad Mamun told reporters while presenting the annual summary of its activities that authorities had opened 98 cases as part of the investigations into Hasina and those associated with her.

"We are still working to recover the money laundered overseas," Mamun said. "We hope to share positive developments by the end of this year".

Since she was ousted, Hasina has been convicted in absentia in several cases, including corruption cases linked to the allocation of plots in an upmarket area of the capital Dhaka.

A court has also sentenced her to death over crimes against humanity.

Hasina has remained in India since fleeing Bangladesh in August 2024, and recently said she intended to return by the end of the year.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said that the government, which has sought her extradition, wanted to ensure Hasina returns to face justice.

"The verdict will be implemented. The court will decide whether there is any scope for an appeal," he said.