Dhaka, Jan 19:State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Shah Shahriar Alam on Wednesday said that the main opposition party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) hired foreign lobbyists in the US to run an anti-Bangladesh campaign.
He said that BNP spent at least USD 3.75 million for hiring three US firms named Akin Company Associates, Blue Star Strategies and Rasky Partners while Jamat signed an agreement with an organisation named ‘Peace and Justice’.
The Minister said to UNI today that the government has found eight documents which show the US lobbyists were hired by some Bangladeshi nationals.
Out of these eight agreements, at least three were signed by BNP using its official address at Naya Paltan area in Dhaka as the principal address.
However, the documents signed on behalf of Jamat carry addresses of New York instead of any Bangladesh address.
Shahriar Alam said that the government would forward these documents to the Bangladesh Bank governor to check whether proper authorisation was taken to send money to the US firms or not.
If they did not take proper authorization from the central bank, the government expects that legal steps will be taken, said the Minister.
He further said that he believes that there are many more such agreements signed by BNP and Jamat with foreign lobbyists which are still unavailable to the public.
(UNI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
