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Published : 16 Jun 2025, 10:07 PM
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has launched an inquiry against Bangladesh’s former high commissioner to the United Kingdom, Saida Muna Tasneem, and her husband Tauhidul Islam Chaudhury, chairman of Generation Next Fashions Limited, over allegations of embezzling and laundering approximately Tk 20 billion taken out in loans from banks and financial institutions.
Announcing the development at a briefing at the commission’s headquarters in Dhaka on Monday, ACC Chairman Mohammad Moinuddin Abdullah said: “We decided to investigate the complaint that, in collusion, Generation Next Fashions Limited and 12 other commercial and shell companies misappropriated around Tk 20 billion from multiple banks and financial institutions and laundered the funds abroad.”
The agency has formed a two-member committee, led by the agency’s Deputy Director Jahangir Alam alongside Assistant Director Saifur Rahman, to look into the allegations.
Preliminary findings suggest that the couple secured large sums of loan from institutions such as UCBL, Bank Asia, EBL, The City Bank, BRAC Bank, NBL, Trust Bank, Southeast Bank, and AB Bank, and never returned them, the ACC said.
Following administrative reshuffles under the interim government, Saida Muna was recalled to Dhaka in September 2024 from her post in London.
However, she did not report back to the ministry upon return.
A 11th Foreign Service graduate, Saida Muna was scheduled to retire in December 2024.
During the tenure of the Awami League government, she was widely recognised as a proactive professional diplomat.
She had been serving as the high commissioner in London since Nov 30, 2018.
Her tenure, however, sparked criticism from expatriate BNP supporters who alleged that the High Commission had effectively been turned into a “party office” during the period.
Before her posting in the UK, Tasneem served as Bangladesh’s ambassador to Thailand.
She also held key positions in the foreign ministry, including director general of the United Nations and External Publicity Wing, and served at the High Commission in London and the permanent UN mission in New York.
