The US and UK on Sunday sought Bangladesh's assistance in their bid to recover around $200 million allegedly paid in kickbacks to former prime minister Khaleda Zia's son Arafat Rahman Koko and some ministers of the last BNP-led government.
A delegation comprising the US justice department's deputy chief Linda M Samuel, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent Debrah Heprevotte and UK Institute of Management consultant Ferdous Ahmed made the request for help at a meeting with Law Minister Shafique Ahmed.
They handed Shafique a list of the persons suspected of receiving the sums during the immediate past four-party alliance rule.
Earlier in the day, after meeting the US-UK officials at his secretariat office, he told reporters that the former prime minister's [Khaleda Zia] son Arafat Rahman Koko and a dozen ministers and leaders of the four-party alliance are alleged to have received $200 million in bribe for awarding work to different foreign companies.
The money is currently deposited in banks across 20 countries including Singapore, UK and United Arab Emirates, he added.