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Published : 16 Mar 2026, 09:14 PM
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has called for a united international front and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) to tackle the rising tide of digital fraud and global scams.
The minister made the appeal on Sunday while speaking as a panelist at a high-level roundtable during the “Global Fraud Summit 2026” in the Austrian capital.
Highlighting the urgency of the crisis, a media release from the Ministry of Home Affairs quoted the minister as saying that "coordinated international initiatives and AI-driven technological solutions" are essential to counter modern financial crimes.
The media release said the minister underscored the growing challenges Bangladesh faces from digital scams, multi-level marketing (MLM) Ponzi schemes, and corporate corruption.
He revealed that between 2006 and 2021, such fraudulent activities caused an estimated financial loss of Tk 210 billion in Bangladesh.
He expressed deep concern over recent incidents involving MTFE and various controversial e-commerce platforms that have syphoned billions from ordinary citizens.
Citing data from Global Financial Integrity (GFI), the minister noted that an average of $8.27 billion was laundered from Bangladesh annually through trade mis-invoicing between 2009 and 2018.
Acknowledging that the existing Penal Code of 1860 is "inadequate" to address modern “white-collar crimes”, the minister informed the summit that the Bangladesh government has initiated moves to reform the law.
The home minister is leading a five-member delegation at the two-day summit.
