Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus met the European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde in the Swiss city, Davos on Wednesday on the sidelines of the WEF annual meeting. Photo: Chief Adviser GOB Facebook page

DAVOS (Switzerland), Jan 22, 2025 (BSS) – Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus has sought the assistance of the European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde to recover billions of dollars stolen from Bangladesh during the fallen Sheikh Hasina dictatorship.

The two dignitaries met in the Swiss city of Davos on Wednesday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting.

Prof Yunus told Christine Lagarde, also a former chief of the IMF that some US$ 17 billion alone were taken out from the country's banking sector by oligarchs close to the dictatorship, and US$ 16 billion were siphoned off annually during the 15 years of ousted Hasina regime.

"It was a massive highway robbery," Prof Yunus said, adding the oligarchs first took over banks and then took loans, which they never paid back.

Lagarde said she would support the Interim Government's move to recover the money, and she recommended that Bangladesh should also take help from the IMF to recover and send   the money back home.

During the talks, they also discussed the July uprising and Bangladesh's reform initiatives.

Lagarde also voiced her support for Bangladeshi educational institutions.

Lamiya Morshed, the SDG coordinator of the Bangladesh government, and Tareq Ariful Islam, Bangladesh permanent envoy in Geneva, also joined the meeting.