Richard Nephew, the US State Department coordinator for global anti-corruption affairs, concluded his visit to Bangladesh where he held talks with top officials. While in Bangladesh, the famous English newspaper Daily Star revealed an important report. The report revealed that Mohammed Saiful Alam, owner of the S Alam Group, closely associated with the current Sheikh Hasina administration, illegally transferred over $1 billion abroad and established a business empire overseas.
Statewatch.net and OCCRP have uncovered similar reports on rampant corruption and money laundering. During Richard Nephew’s meeting with the Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary, he indicated that he might consider the embargo as a tool against corruption. The question is, does the United States government intend to impose new sanctions, especially on those involved in corruption and money laundering?
In response, Matthew Miller said, “As I said earlier in response to a different question about a different country, we never preview actions before we impose sanctions. Generally speaking, sanctions can be a tool to fight corruption. We also have other tools, such as freezing assets and providing information to partner countries so they can prosecute cases.