Though Initially Withheld, Advisers’ Asset Declarations Released at the Last Minute Through 2025; All Were Already Millionaires

Staff Correspondent

At the moment of the departure of the interim government, the Office of the Chief Advisor published the asset statement of the Advisory Council in February 2026 and up to June 30, 2025. Although this statement was promised at the beginning of taking office, it was published almost a year and a half later and at the end of the term. As a result, there is no official document or evidence to know how much wealth was owned by whom at the time of taking office (August 2024) anymore.

The published report shows that the wealth of most advisors and their spouses has increased significantly in the past year. Only the wealth of Environment Advisor Rezwan has decreased at an alarming rate—by about 10 million taka. On the other hand, the wealth of Chief Advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus has increased by about 1.5 million taka. The changes in the wealth of some notable advisors are as follows:

• Asif Janrul’s wealth increased by Tk 1.2 million, while his wife Sheela Ahmed’s wealth increased by Tk 4.2 million.
• Adilur Rahman’s wealth has increased by about 1.5 crore taka, while his wife’s wealth has increased by 6.3 million taka.
• Although health advisor Nurjahan Begum’s own wealth has not increased, her husband’s wealth has decreased by about 1.5 crore taka.
• Although there is no record of Sharmin S. Murshid’s husband’s previous assets, his assets as of June 30, 2025, were shown to be Tk 82.5 million.
• Cultural advisor Farooqui’s wealth decreased by only 9 lakh taka, but his wife Nusrat Tisha’s wealth increased by 16 million taka.

The most discussed issue is the surge in the wealth of student advisors.

Asif Mahmud’s total assets have increased from zero to about 1.5 million taka. Similarly, Mahfuz Alam’s assets have increased from 4 million taka to about 1.3 million taka. The amount of corruption reported by these two in the newspapers has created a sense of humor.

Political analysts and good governance activists have questioned the timing and method of publishing this report. They say that instead of publishing the asset statement at the beginning of taking office, the picture is shown at the last moment and only at one point in time (June 30, 2025). As a result, there is no way to know the step-by-step changes or sources of how an advisor’s assets have increased or decreased.

A former election commissioner said, “What is the point of publishing this report when the term of office is coming to an end? It should have been published at the beginning to prove transparency to the public. Now, they are just showing a typed paper and saying that this is the truth. This leaves room for doubt.”

Many believe that the government wanted to demand some transparency by publishing this report, but due to the timing and method, it has raised the opposite question. In particular, the jump in the wealth of student advisors and the decrease in the wealth of one advisor have sparked new discussions. The Office of the Chief Advisor has not yet given any official explanation on this matter.