UK PM declines to meet Prof Yunus

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has declined a request by Muhammad Yunus, chief advisor to Bangladesh’s interim government, to discuss the recovery of billions of dollars laundered by the deposed Awami League regime, according to the Financial Times (FT).

Yunus told the FT that the UK should feel “legally and… morally” obligated to help track down funds “stolen” under the Sheikh Hasina-led regime.

He added that Starmer had not agreed to meet him.

“I have no direct conversation with him,” the chief advisor said. He said he had “no doubt” Starmer would support Bangladesh’s efforts.

“This is stolen money,” he said.

UK government officials confirmed to the FT that Starmer had no plan to meet Yunus at present and declined to comment further.

The chief advisor said an objective of his trip to London was to bring out “more enthusiastic support” from the UK.

Tulip Siddiq, a Labour MP who is part of Starmer’s government, is also the niece of ousted prime minister Hasina. In January, Tulip – a close ally to Starmer – was forced to step down from the role of city minister after allegations of corruption related to property and support from figures connected to the Awami League.

In a letter this week, Tulip asked to meet Yunus during his trip to the UK, saying she wanted to “clear up” the allegations by Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission.

Yunus said he would not meet her.

“This is a legal issue… a legal process,” he said. “It’s not personal involving me.”

Yunus said that during the 16 years of Awami League rule, Hasina had turned her “power into an opportunity to grab money” for relatives and associates.

There had been a “big looting process,” he told FT.

Bangladeshi authorities have estimated that hundreds of billions of dollars were laundered abroad while Hasina was in power. The UK, as well as Canada, Singapore, the Caribbean, and the Middle East, are destinations for these funds, Yunus claimed.

The chief advisor said his trip to the UK was “just the beginning” and he was planning further visits. His administration is looking for support from “all directions” in the UK, he said.

“We need the support from the people of Great Britain,” he said.