Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Iqbal Hassan Mahmood yesterday informed the Jatiya Sangsad that the process has begun to bring back money allegedly looted and laundered abroad in the name of quick rental power projects during the tenure of the previous Awami League government, says BSS news.
He said the Ministry of Finance and Bangladesh Bank are working in coordination to repatriate the siphoned funds.
The minister made the remarks in a written reply to a question tabled by treasury bench member Md. Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas (Pabna-5).
In his reply, the minister stated that during the previous Awami League government, the “Speedy Supply of Power and Energy (Special Provision) Act, 2010” was enacted. Under this law, power plants could be approved without any open tender or standard procurement process, allowing discretionary approvals of proposals.
He further noted that, under Section 5 of the Act, tariffs for power plants were determined through a negotiation committee.
“This process often resulted in unjustified electricity prices and abnormally
high capacity charges. Influential leaders of the Awami League and their
relatives were allegedly involved among the owners of these power plants,” he
added.
Regarding government measures, Iqbal said that after assuming office, the previous interim government repealed the controversial law through an ordinance. The ordinance was passed in parliament as a bill on April 7, permanently ending the scope for arbitrary approval of power plants.
He added that coordinated efforts are ongoing by the Ministry of Finance and Bangladesh Bank to recover the laundered money while legal actions against those responsible are also in progress.