Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Friday said that the Swiss banks did not want to share the information on alleged laundered money from Bangladesh despite several requests.
“They seem reluctant to provide the information,” he told reporters in Sylhet, adding that “It’s their inherent issue”.
Earlier, Swiss ambassador in Dhaka Nathalie Chuard had said that the government of Bangladesh did not seek information from the Swiss banks.
The foreign minister, however, said the Bangladesh Bank sought information of 67 individuals from the Swiss banks.
“The Swiss envoy is new here and she is not yet updated,” the foreign minister said.
He said the central bank mentioned the names of those individuals while seeking information.
“They provided information of only one individual during that time. We sought information several times,” he said, replying to a question.
He said Switzerland is Bangladesh’s friend and urged them not to provide misinformation.
The Foreign Minister also said that a certain group is spreading panic with 'baseless' claims that Bangladesh will see a situation like Sri Lanka.
Despite challenges that Bangladesh is facing due to global crises, he said, people are leading happier lives compared to many other countries.
“We have enough dollar reserves and are just maintaining a bit of austerity considering the future crises,” he said of the current situation.