Ex-governor Farashuddin urges state control over assets of local ‘East India companies’

Former Bangladesh Bank governor Mohammad Farashuddin has called for the state to take control of the assets held by local corporate groups he likened to “East India companies”, claiming they have captured key levers of the economy and must now face justice. Speaking on Tuesday at the launch of the July–August edition of Monthly Macroeconomic Insights in Dhaka’s Banani, Farashuddin said Bangladesh Bank has already identified around 10 to 15 such groups. “These groups took control of banks. Bangladesh Bank has flagged them. Now they must face consequences,” he said, urging the government to not only seize their assets but formally bring them under state ownership. He argued that when political and economic power become one and the same, “East...