Instructions have also been given to provide information on the bank accounts of their privately owned institutions. The agency has sent relevant instructions to banks and financial institutions. A senior official of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, BFIU, confirmed the matter on Wednesday, January 15. According to the letter, the information must be sent within the next seven working days.

The letter said that account opening forms, KYC documents, transaction statements and other related information of these 14 journalists, their spouses, children and related organizations must be sent.

The other journalists on the list include Bangladesh Journal’s Shahjahan Sardar, Dhaka Tribune staff reporter Ali Asif Shawon, freelance journalist Nadeem Qadir, DBC News senior reporter Rajib Ghosh and Daily People’s Life editor Md. Azizul Haque Bhuiyan.

The list also includes Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha sports in-charge Swapan Basu, DBC News staff reporter Tahmida Sadek Jesi, Channel i senior reporter Niladri Shekhar Kundu, Bangla TV’s Nazrul Kabir, Gazi TV news editor Iqbal Karim Nishan, Green TV’s Saju Rahman and former Channel Nine news chief Aminur Rashid.

Earlier, bank account information of 21 journalists was sought on January 5. Before that, on December 30 last year, BFIU had sent letters to banks seeking information on the accounts of 12 journalists.

Following the student-people uprising, Sheikh Hasina resigned as prime minister and left the country on August 5, ending 16 consecutive years of Awami League rule. After the interim government took office, BFIU sought and froze bank account information of several professionals suspected of assisting wrongdoing and being involved in irregularities and corruption during the Awami League government.