{"id":11552,"date":"2025-03-11T21:03:53","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T21:03:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=11552"},"modified":"2025-03-11T21:03:53","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T21:03:53","slug":"un-to-rent-bangladesh-property-owned-by-former-regime-associate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=11552","title":{"rendered":"UN to rent Bangladesh property owned by former regime associate"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The UN is relocating its agencies in Dhaka to a building complex owned by one of the families accused by Bangladesh\u2019s interim government of illegally funnelling millions of dollars out of the country, the Financial Times has learnt.<\/p>\n

The UN Common Premises, which will soon house UN agencies in the Bangladeshi capital, is owned by the Bashundhara Group, a property and industrial group controlled by the Sobhan family.<\/p>\n

The Sobhans are one of the families in the sights of Muhammad Yunus\u2019s interim government as it seeks to recover billions of dollars that it believes were embezzled under Sheikh Hasina, the authoritarian leader who was deposed in mass protests last year.<\/p>\n

Bangladesh\u2019s Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating allegations of unexplained wealth, including overseas assets, against Bashundhara chair Ahmed Akbar Sobhan and a number of his family members, the government agency told the FT.<\/p>\n

The FT reported last month that members of the Sobhan family had purchased at least $65mn worth of properties in the UK, acquiring 26 assets in total.<\/p>\n

Bashundhara, established in the 1980s by Sobhan, has grown into a dominant force in Bangladesh\u2019s economy, with interests spanning property, cement, paper, steel and shipping. But its expansion has at times attracted allegations of land grabbing and financial misconduct.<\/p>\n

In September, Bangladesh\u2019s Criminal Investigation Department also named the company, Sobhan and Sayem Sobhan Anvir, managing director of Bashundhara, as subjects of an investigation into alleged money laundering.<\/p>\n

The Sobhans did not respond to a request for comment made via Bashundhara.<\/p>\n

The UN resident co-ordinator\u2019s office in Dhaka told the FT that the world body was \u201cvery much aware\u201d of the allegations against Bashundhara, Sobhan and his family members.<\/p>\n

According to the UN, the decision to relocate to the complex in Dhaka\u2019s upscale Gulshan district was made last year, before the wave of student-led protests that ended Sheikh Hasina\u2019s 15-year rule in August.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll preparations and decision-making related to the UN Common Premises in Bangladesh have been carried out in accordance with UN rules and regulations and best practices on due diligence, and a rigorous due diligence process has been conducted,\u201d the UN said, adding that it was \u201cunable to comment on ongoing investigations\u201d.<\/p>\n

A UN report last month found that government security and intelligence agencies \u201csystematically engaged in a range of serious human rights violations\u201d in a crackdown against last year\u2019s protests that killed more than 1,400 people.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope the UN will reconsider its decision,\u201d Asif Nazrul, the Yunus government\u2019s adviser on justice, told the FT.<\/p>\n

UN employees in Dhaka said the move was part of a broader global cost-cutting initiative aiming at consolidating agencies in the city under one roof for the first time.<\/p>\n

However, the decision could intensify scrutiny over the UN\u2019s financial dealings and ethical considerations, particularly as Bangladesh\u2019s interim authorities step up efforts to recover assets linked to the country\u2019s elite, said experts.<\/p>\n

A report on Bangladesh\u2019s economy commissioned by the interim government in December estimated that the country lost $16bn annually to money laundering during Sheikh Hasina\u2019s rule from 2009 to 2024.<\/p>\n

Yunus has described the alleged looting by elites as \u201chighway robbery\u201d and insisted the money \u201chas to be brought back\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cBangladesh needs to recover the billions embezzled under the previous regime to ensure macroeconomic stability and long-term growth,\u201d said Mushfiq Mobarak, an economics professor at Yale University who has worked for the World Bank and IMF.<\/p>\n

\u201cInternational partners, including the UN, have important roles to play to facilitate this.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for free The UN is relocating its agencies in Dhaka to a building complex owned by one of the families accused by Bangladesh\u2019s interim government of illegally funnelling millions of dollars out of the country, the Financial Times has learnt. The UN Common Premises, which will soon house UN agencies in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[206],"tags":[4756,3815,4755,1405,681,792],"class_list":{"0":"post-11552","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-financial-crime","8":"tag-associate","9":"tag-bangladesh","10":"tag-owned","11":"tag-property","12":"tag-regime","13":"tag-rent"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}