Bangladesh reportedly faced an annual outflow of approximately $16 billion through illicit channels during the tenure of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. This alarming statistic is part of an economic report commissioned by the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.
Expressing his gratitude to the report's authors, Yunus proposed making the document widely available, including as part of academic curricula. “This is a historic report. It reveals the state of the economy we inherited after the widespread protests in July and August,” Yunus commented, as cited by the United News of Bangladesh.
He further condemned the findings, stating, “It chills our blood to learn how the country was looted. The most disheartening part is that these acts were carried out openly, yet most of us lacked the courage to stand against them.”
The report scrutinized seven major projects out of the 29 initiated during Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year premiership, each exceeding a budget of 100 billion Bangladeshi takas ($836 million). The original cost of these projects was inflated by nearly 70% without conducting proper economic feasibility assessments.
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Based on materials from TASS