After weeks of deadly anti-government demonstrations in the South Asian nation, in the afternoon of August 5th, televisions in Bangladesh broadcast images of a helicopter rising from the residence of Sheikh Hasina, the country’s prime minister until minutes before. The chopper was carrying her and her sister “to safety”. Shortly afterwards images appeared of gleeful protesters entering the prime minister’s residence, lounging in her bed and making off with pets and furniture. Others were filmed dancing in the streets of Dhaka.
Sheikh Hasina ruled this country of 171 million people for 20 of the past 28 years, mostly with an iron fist. Her political longevity relied on tacit backing from the army and on increasing oppression. An election in January returning her to power for the fifth time confirmed the country’s descent into a one-party state, with widespread rigging by her Awami League (AL) party and a boycott by the main opposition party. Hasina’s party — the Awami League — was in power since 2009, and the last two general elections of 2014 and 2018, respectively, were marred with opposition boycotts and allegations of massive vote rigging. Hasina, the world’s longest-serving female head of a government, is also accused of brutally suppressing the opposition and dissenting voices during her nearly 16-year period.
Ousted dictator had combined strong-woman politics with impressive economic results: in the decade before covid-19 the country’s economy grew at 7% annually, buoyed by its garment industry and despite rampant cronyism. Bangladesh’s iron lady also bolstered her rule by securing the backing of India, its powerful neighbour, while maintaining cordial relations with China, its main arms supplier. The West, however, showed little interest in penalising her even as she abandoned democratic norms.
In a sudden turn of events, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, 76, had finally resigned and fled Dhaka following weeks of massive anti-government protests resulting in over thousands of deaths and several thousands of injured across the country.
Though iron lady and dictator Hasina fled to India, pushing the country’s economy in deep trouble thorough her well planned evil nexus, which created a massive rise in oligarch society while capitalism arises under the patronage of the state during her long more than 16 years of autocratic tenure.
The nation has witnessed the rise of an oligarchic society, characterised by a substantial concentration of wealth and political influence, which was established just to consolidated the power of Sheikh Hasina.
In the last 10-15 years, there has been a massive rise in oligarch society while capitalism arises under the patronage of the state. Later, corporate crony capitalism was introduced through the indulgence of the private sector. The number of individuals in this category has grown substantially compared to the past.
A field visit-based report has identified several reasons behind income and expenditure inequality, including inefficiencies in government institutions, corruption, and a lack of accountability, leading to a voiceless population unable to assert their rights.
Meanwhile, private sector investment has been at 23% of the GDP for several years, which is much lower than the average of 30% in lower middle-income countries. The higher growth achieved in the last couple of years came mainly from the public investment which excluded a large number of people from benefits.
Furthermore, many criticised the allocation of less than 2% of GDP to education and 1% to healthcare as inadequate for a developing nation. Roughly, 2.52% GDP for Social Safety Net is significantly lower than the requirement, he said adding the actual allocation for the poor will reduce if the allocation for pension is excluded.
Against such a backdrop, identifying issues like unemployment, regional disparities, violence against women, environmental hazards, governmental inefficiencies, erosion of values, and widespread corruption, country’s renowned economists had repeatedly called for democratic restoration as a solution to ensure balanced and inclusive development. They also warned that persistent inequality weakens social structures and poses challenges for the government.
“Oligarchy,” a term derived from ancient Greek meaning ‘rule by the few,’ refers to a power structure where a small group holds significant control.
Oligarchic society has emerged during AL regime
Bangladesh’s remarkable progress in socio-economic indicators over the past half-century has failed to benefit all segments of society due to escalating inequality, rooted in a lack of overall democratic accountability and good governance. This inequality has been exacerbated by the insufficient allocation of resources to priority sectors, poor policy and project implementation, and inconsistencies between policy formulation and development planning. Here, we can highlight the stark income disparities, with only 1.31% of total income reaching the poorest 10%, while the richest 10% received 41%. He noted a 9% increase in inequality from 2010 to 2022. Several reasons behind income and expenditure inequality, including inefficiencies in government institutions, corruption, and a lack of accountability, leading to a voiceless population unable to assert their rights.
It is also noted that private sector investment has been at 23% of the GDP for several years, which is much lower than the average of 30% in lower middle-income countries. The higher growth achieved in the last couple of years came mainly from the public investment which excluded a large number of people from benefits, said. Furthermore, experts also have criticised the allocation of less than 2% of GDP to education and 1% to healthcare as inadequate for a developing nation. Roughly 2.52% GDP for Social Safety Net is significantly lower than the requirement while the actual allocation for the poor will be reduced further if the allocation for pension is excluded.
The richest 5% people in Bangladesh had earned about 30 times more than the poorest 5% in 2010. The latest survey of the BBS found 80 times higher income by the richest 5% compared with the poorest 5% people. Bangladesh scored 0.66 points out of 1 in the Human Development Index which will drop to 0.50 if the calculation is made addressing inequality. The number of people holding wealth over Tk1 crore reached 98 in 1980 from 5 in 1972. The number crossed one lakh in 2021. After the movement and struggle against the 20 families, now there are thousands of millionaires. The kleptocratic government provided financial benefits, including tax exemptions, capacity payments in the electricity sector, and policy changes in their favor.
Who are Hasina’s Oligarchs in Bangladesh?
During Hasina’s regime, several oligarchic groups—including Summit, S Alam Group, Beximco, Orion, and Bashundhara—allegedly gained undue business advantages.
Summit Group, for example, received capacity payments amounting to around Tk 90,000 crore over the past 15 years. Meanwhile, Janata Bank extended substantial loans to Beximco Group, bypassing established rules.
According to a central bank investigation, Beximco received Tk 21,978 crore from Janata Bank—949.78 percent higher than the bank’s capital—despite regulations prohibiting loans exceeding 25 percent of capital to a single customer. Despite this, Janata Bank honoured Beximco as its best customer for export business in 2021.
Orion Group, on the other hand, has failed to repay any loan installments to government banks, while S Alam Group is widely known for looting public funds, even acquiring eight banks, including Islami Bank of Bangladesh, through sheer muscle power.
Bashundhara Group also illegally established an oil refinery, benefiting from its favorable relationship with Hasina’s regime.
Reports have also surfaced that Janata Bank has waived loan interest of 261 crore taka for Nassa Group. The owner of that business conglomerate has been a loan defaulter since 2013 but he has managed to skip the defaulter status through regulatory loopholes.
Writ filed seeking probe into ‘RNPP scam’ against Hasina
A writ petition was filed with the High Court very recently, pleading for the court’s direction on the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to probe allegations against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and niece Tulip Siddiq of embezzling Tk 600 billion from Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant through Malaysian banks. Nationalist Democratic Movement (NDM) chairman Bobby Hajjaj filed the petition, referring to reports published by different newspapers. Confirming the report to newspersons, the petitioner’s lawyer Sahedul Azam said the matter would be mentioned before the High Court division bench of justice AKM Asaduzzaman and justice Muhammad Mahbub Ul Islam for hearing.
Recently, a portal called Global Defense Corporation has published a report based on its own research. According to the report of Global Defense Corp, Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina embezzled more than $5 billion from the Rooppur nuclear power plant. According to the organisation, Rosatom, the project’s implementing agency, gave her access to finance through a Malaysian bank, mediated by her niece Tulip Siddiq. In exchange for mediating the power plant deal, Tulip, her mother Sheikh Rehana and some members of their family got 30 percent ‘kickbacks’ from Russia, the report says. It claims Russia helped Hasina siphon off $5 billion through various Malaysian banks. It also alleged that the nuclear reactors Bangladesh is getting for the overpriced nuclear plant are Soviet-era.
In the past 15 years, a total of 82 development projects, costing over Tk 510 billion, were launched under the names of Sheikh Hasina and her family. Of these, 38 projects have been completed, while work on the remaining 44 is ongoing. These projects were initiated under the influence of powerful ministers, in political considerations, or by proactive government officials, and often at the advice of contractors. Consequently, no one dared to question the expenditure in these projects.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has initiated a public investigation against Jahangir Alam, a former peon of recently ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, for allegedly amassing Tk400 crore through illicit means. Known as “Pani Jahangir,” Alam is accused of exploiting his position to accumulate significant wealth.
Al Jazeera reveals former land minister Saifuzzaman’s global property empire
A recent Al Jazeera report reveals that Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, then a minister of land and a close ally of the now deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, bought over 360 luxury properties in Britain alone worth $250m. AJ investigation also reveals that ex-land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed has amassed a staggering amount of wealth abroad ranging from hundreds of luxury properties spread across multiple continents, luxury cars, crocodile shoes to Italian suits. The former minister’s property empire was revealed in a recent investigation by Doha-based Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit recently.
UK approached to probe $17bn worth of assets linked to Hasina’s allies
Bangladesh’s interim government has approached the UK to help probe the overseas wealth of allies of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina as it investigates whether Hasina’s regime diverted around $17 billions overseas from the country’s banking system.
In particular, the focus is on identifying the source of funds used to pay for a UK property portfolio worth £150mn owned by former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury. Speaking to the Financial Times, Ahsan Mansur, Bangladesh’s new central bank governor, said he had sought the help of the UK among other countries. He said such assets may also be in the US, Singapore and the UAE. “The UK government has been very helpful. The high commissioner was in my office and they offered lots of technical support,” said Mansur. Mansur told Financial Times that probing the assets was “an issue that we’ll seek help from the UK government to the extent these assets can be recovered”. On the $17bn laundered, amounting to around Tk2 trillion, Mansur said, “A heist of this order could not have taken place without the knowledge of the prime minister”. He, however, added that the investigations were at a “very early stage”. UK officials confirmed to Financial Times that a meeting took place, but declined to comment on what was discussed.
Salman Rahman, 27 others, accused of laundering over Tk1,000cr
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has registered 17 cases against Beximco Group Vice-Chairman Salman F Rahman and 27 others for allegedly laundering about Tk1,000 crore ($83 million) under the guise of export trade. Additional Superintendent of Police Azad Rahman confirmed the matter to TBS in a notification on 18 September. The CID’s probe conducted under the Money Laundering Prevention Act found that Salman and his brother ASF Rahman, who is also the chairman of Beximco Group, were involved in laundering about Tk1,000 crore ($83 million) through exported goods against 93 LCs (Letters of Credit) from the Janata Bank PLC during the period between 2021 and 2024. The export proceeds, however, were not brought back to Bangladesh.
S Alam takes Tk 3,287cr in power capacity charge
The coal-based 1,224MW Banshkhali power station, owned by the controversial S Alam group, realised up to more than double the amount received by its peers in capacity charge payment in the 2023–24 financial year, revealed data obtained from the Bangladesh Power Development Board. The coal-fired power plants compared here include the 1,600MW Adani power station, 1,320MW Rampal power station, 1,320MW Payra power plant, and 370MW Barishal power station. The capacity charge received by the Banshkhali power plant, energy experts pointed out, shines the spotlight on the typical Bangladesh power scenario— power deals coupled with mismanagement earning private investors predatory profits.
Orion defaults on Tk 106cr loan for Hanif flyover
Orion Infrastructure Limited, a concern of Orion Group, has become a loan defaulter after failing to repay Tk 106 crore in bridge financing for the Mayor Mohammad Hanif Flyover project, according to a recent Bangladesh Bank inspection report. The central bank’s review of Sonali Bank’s annual financing report for 2023, conducted in July 2024, revealed that the company had not met its repayment obligations. Consequently, the central bank directed Sonali Bank to classify the outstanding amount as bad loans and update the Credit Information Bureau data accordingly. This development has led to the identification of Orion Infrastructure Limited’s board members, including chairman Mohammad Obaidul Karim, as loan defaulters.
Shakhawat Hossain is a freelance columnist
