Desk Report:
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has called for combating digital fraud and global fraud with modern technology. He stressed on coordinated international initiatives and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven technological solutions in this regard.
The minister made this call while speaking as a panelist at a high-level roundtable titled ‘Global Fraud Response Mechanism’ at the ‘Global Fraud Summit 2026’ held in Vienna, Austria, on Monday (March 16, 2026).
In his speech, the minister highlighted the growing challenges of digital scams, MLM ponzi schemes and corporate corruption in Bangladesh. He said that between 2006 and 2021, Bangladesh suffered an estimated financial loss of Tk 21,000 crore due to such fraudulent activities. He expressed deep concern over the recent cases of billions of taka being embezzled from the common people through MTFE and various controversial e-commerce platforms.
Citing a report by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), the minister said that an average of about 8.27 billion US dollars was laundered from Bangladesh every year between 2009 and 2018 under the guise of trade mis-invoicing. He said that the existing Penal Code of 1860 is currently inadequate to deal with modern ‘white collar crime’, which the government has taken the initiative to reform.
The Home Minister presented four important proposals to prevent fraud at the global level: (1) extensive research and exchange of strategic information to understand the ever-changing strategies of fraud; (2) further strengthening global and regional cooperation platforms; (3) introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) and modern technology-based monitoring systems; and (4) ensuring speedy punishment of criminals by enhancing the capacity of the judicial framework and law enforcement agencies.
The Home Minister said, “We have adopted a zero tolerance policy to ensure financial and digital security. However, due to the global nature of crime, it is not possible to eradicate it alone without cross-border cooperation.”
It is worth noting that the two-day summit is being attended by home ministers, policymakers and heads of international organizations from different countries of the world. The minister is expected to meet the UK Home Secretary in a bilateral meeting tomorrow (March 17).
