Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has called for a coordinated international response to combat digital fraud and global deception, emphasising the need for AI-powered solutions and cross-border cooperation.
Speaking as a panelist at the high-level roundtable “Global Fraud Response Mechanism” during the Global Fraud Summit 2026 in Vienna, Austria, on Monday, the minister highlighted Bangladesh’s growing challenges with digital scams, MLM Ponzi schemes, and corporate corruption.
Ahmed revealed that fraudulent activities in Bangladesh caused an estimated financial loss of approximately Tk21,000 crore between 2006 and 2021. He expressed deep concern over recent incidents involving MTFE and various controversial e-commerce platforms that siphoned off billions of taka from ordinary citizens.
Citing a Global Financial Integrity (GFI) report, the minister informed that an average of approximately $8.27 billion was smuggled out of Bangladesh annually between 2009 and 2018 through trade “mis-invoicing”. He noted that the existing penal code of 1860 is insufficient to tackle modern “white-collar crime” and that the government has initiated reforms.
The home minister presented four key proposals to prevent fraud globally: comprehensive research and strategic information sharing to understand evolving fraud tactics; strengthening global and regional cooperation platforms; implementing AI-powered and modern technology-based monitoring systems; and ensuring swift punishment through enhanced judicial and law enforcement capacity.
“We have adopted a zero-tolerance policy to ensure financial and digital security. However, given the global nature of the crime, it is impossible to eliminate it alone without cross-border cooperation,” Salahuddin said.
The two-day summit is being attended by home ministers, policymakers, and heads of international organisations from various countries. The minister is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with the UK’s Home State Minister tomorrow.
