Banks Resist UK Firm's $125 Million Fee to Recover Sikder Group's Hidden Millions

Bangladesh Bank sat down with the seven banks that financed Sikder Group on October 25 to weigh a recovery proposal that has quickly turned into a fee dispute. R1 Consortium, a UK based asset recovery firm, has quoted $125 million to chase roughly $500 million in assets the Sikder family is accused of moving out of the country, part of close to $1 billion already traced abroad. The banks are not objecting to hiring the firm. They are objecting to how it wants to be paid, a flat $125 million cost the banks would bear regardless of whether any money actually comes back.

• R1 Consortium has quoted $125 million to pursue roughly $500 million in Sikder Group assets traced abroad, out of close to $1 billion allegedly moved out of Bangladesh.
• Bangladesh Bank disclosed the proposal on October 25 at a meeting with the chairmen and managing directors of the seven banks that financed Sikder Group.
• The banks are resisting paying the fee upfront and want R1 paid only out of what it actually recovers, with Agrani Bank's chairman backing a commission based model instead.
• A senior Bangladesh Bank official warned the banks could spend the full $125 million and still recover nothing under R1's current offer.

Why the Banks Are Pushing Back

The dispute comes down to who carries the risk if recovery fails. A senior Bangladesh Bank official told reporters at the October 25 meeting that "there is a risk that the banks could spend $125 million and still fail to recover any assets," since R1's fee as quoted is not conditioned on how much the firm actually brings back. For seven banks still nursing losses from financing a group now under investigation, paying a large fixed sum with no guarantee of recovery is a hard sell to their boards, several of which still need to approve the deal before any agreement can be signed.

What Agrani's Chairman Is Pushing For Instead

Agrani Bank chairman Syed Abu Naser Bukhtear Ahmed, whose bank is among the seven lenders exposed to Sikder Group, said the recovery agent should be paid differently. "The recovery agent can get commission on recovery," he said, a position that reflects the banks' preference for a no recovery, no fee style arrangement over R1's flat fee quote. That would shift the financial risk of a failed recovery effort onto R1 itself rather than onto banks that are already carrying the group's unpaid loans.

Where the Money Allegedly Went

The funds under scrutiny were allegedly routed through the Cayman Islands, Thailand, Dubai and the United States, according to banking officials familiar with the matter. R1's offer is reported to lapse if the banks have not signed an agreement by December 4, adding pressure to resolve the fee structure quickly even as boards weigh whether to accept the terms on the table.

A Pattern Already Taking Shape at Other Banks

Sikder Group is one of six Bangladeshi conglomerates an interagency task force shortlisted in September 2025 for this kind of civil recovery action, alongside the much larger S Alam Group, Beximco, Aramit, Orion and Nassa. Sikder's own loan exposure, at roughly Tk10,233 crore, is modest next to S Alam's Tk2.25 trillion, but bankers working the parallel S Alam recovery effort describe a similar process already underway elsewhere. Islami Bank managing director Mohammad Omar Faruk Khan has said his bank has "already signed agreements with several multinational firms to trace assets of S Alam Group abroad." Janata Bank managing director Mujibur Rahman said his bank had "completed all procedures subject to approval from the board of directors," and IFIC Bank chairman Mehmood Hossain described his bank's current agreements as being "for information," with commercial recovery mandates still to follow. Thirty six non disclosure agreements with international recovery firms have been signed so far out of a planned 59 across all six groups.

Agrani Bank chairman Syed Abu Naser Bukhtear Ahmed, on how R1 Consortium should be paid: "The recovery agent can get commission on recovery."

The Hard Part Is Still Ahead

Even once the fee dispute is resolved, the recovery itself will not be quick. Chasing funds allegedly routed through the Cayman Islands, Thailand, Dubai and the United States means coordinating multiple legal teams, multiple court systems and, in some cases, the cooperation of foreign regulators who have no particular obligation to prioritise a Bangladeshi bank's claim. International asset recovery litigation of this kind routinely takes years even when the commercial terms are settled, and this one is not there yet.

What It Means for You

This dispute will not change anything about day to day banking at Janata, Agrani or the other lenders involved, and any money eventually recovered would strengthen those banks' balance sheets only after a process likely to take years. For depositors and borrowers, the more relevant takeaway is what this case signals about how Bangladesh is trying to deal with the stock of loans tied up in politically connected conglomerates, a problem that has weighed on bank balance sheets for years and kept lending rates and FDR returns from normalising faster. Savers can track how that broader bad loan cleanup is or isn't feeding through to deposit rates using the FDR rate comparison tool.