Bangladesh c.bank hires auditors for banks it says lost $17 bln, FT reports

Bangladesh's central bank has hired three "Big Four" accounting firms - EY, Deloitte and KPMG - to audit banks it says lost $17 billion to business people close to the regime of former leader Sheikh Hasina, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing bank governor Ahsan Mansur.

In an interview with the newspaper, Mansur said the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit had also formed 11 joint investigation teams to track down and reclaim assets it believes were bought with the funds siphoned out of the banks and to help prosecute those responsible.

EY and Deloitte did not respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours. Efforts to contact KPMG for a comment through their website were not successful.

Mansur, who was appointed central bank governor by interim national leader Muhammad Yunus after Sheikh Hasina fled to India in August, said to the FT the investigations would look at 10 leading Bangladeshi businesses as well as the ousted former leader and her relatives.

Mansur, a former economist at the International Monetary Fund, has been tasked with helping to stabilise Bangladesh’s economy. He is also beginning the process of recovering what he estimates is at least 2 trillion taka ($16.46 billion) taken from the banks during the 15 years when Hasina and her Awami League party were in power, the FT said.

($1 = 121.5000 taka)