US to forfeit Singapore accounts linked to Bangla bribery scam

The US has moved to forfeit bank accounts worth US$ 3 million in Singapore linked to a bribery scandal in Bangladesh involving Arafat 'Koko' Rahman, son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia.
    
The forfeiture action by the US Department of Justice was filed on Thursday in the US District Court in the District of Columbia.
    
The money amounting to USD 3 million is alleged to be the proceeds of a wide-ranging conspiracy to bribe public officials in Bangladesh and their family members in connection with various public work projects, acting assistant attorney general Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division said in a statement on Friday.
    
In its forfeiture complaint, the Department of Justice claimed the majority of funds in Koko's account are traceable to bribes allegedly received in connection with the China Harbor project for building a new mooring containment terminal at the port in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
    
According to the forfeiture complaint, bribe payments from Siemens AG and China Harbor Engineering Company were made in US dollars, and illicit funds flowed through financial institutions in the US before they were deposited in accounts in Singapore, thereby subjecting them to American jurisdiction.
    
"This action shows the lengths to which US law enforcement will go to recover the proceeds of foreign corruption, including acts of bribery and money laundering," Friedrich said.