A UK PR firm tried to smear Bangladesh’s top central banker. It backfired.

Bangladesh Bank’s governor, Ahsan Mansur, has been in London as part of the government’s efforts to recover funds allegedly stolen by “kleptocrats” from the country’s banks. 

The central bank estimates that during the Awami League’s 15-year regime, at least $25 billion has been stolen by pro-government businessmen through fake loans that have never been paid back. Some of those funds have made their way to the UK, where they were used to purchase property.

The alleged culprits include the former land minister, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, who is known to own a multi-million-pound property portfolio. Others have property in the UK as well, including family members of the incarcerated Beximco vice-chairman, Salman F. Rahman, and the family of Nazrul Islam Majumdar, the former head of Exim Bank. S. Alam, who is alleged to have siphoned off the largest amount — “at least £10 billion,” according to the central bank — is not known to own property in London.

With so much at stake for these businessmen, it is unsurprising that they would fight back. S. Alam, for example, has hired what is described as the “most feared” white-collar defence law firm, and it is likely that other wealthy businessmen have also enlisted top legal representation.

Now, however, a UK public relations firm—Palatine Media—has stepped forward in support of the kleptocrats and the Awami League, although it refuses to disclose the identity of its client, stating that: “Our client instructions are confidential.”

Before meeting Mansur, key UK parliamentarians received emails from Palatine Media containing corruption allegations against the governor. The claims had been published by anonymous authors using fake names and profile photos on a website posing as a legitimate news outlet.

Entitled “Bangladesh Bank Governor faces own corruption allegations,” the email seeks to discredit and smear the central bank governor—who is key to the country’s efforts to recover the stolen funds—by using disinformation and hyperbole.

Mansur is a career economist who worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for 28 years, eventually serving as its senior resident representative in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Sudan, and Yemen. In 2008, he took early retirement and established an economic think tank in Bangladesh, the Policy Research Institute (PRI), which became known for its independent and professional analysis. When the interim government was formed in August 2024, he was appointed governor of the central bank. Mansur, who has an unimpeachable reputation, has never before faced allegations of this nature.

Unsurprisingly, the PR firm’s efforts then triggered suspicion among the MPs waiting to hear from Mansur.

What are Palatine Media’s “corruption allegations”?

The firm’s email claims that the governor’s family possesses “unexplained wealth held abroad” which he is purportedly covering up. To support its claim, Palatine Media provided a link to an article, “The Missing Transparency in Bangladesh’s Financial Crusade,” published on the International Policy Digest website.

That article, however, provides no evidence of hidden wealth. Instead, it merely states that Mansur’s daughter is a co-director of a Singapore-based company—without offering any indication of assets or “wealth” owned by that company. Crucially, the article omits the fact that she is a US citizen, legally entitled to establish a company outside Bangladesh.

Since no evidence of hidden wealth is offered, the article’s insinuations of a cover-up are groundless—particularly given that the Bangladeshi authorities are attempting to recover funds from large-scale businessmen who have allegedly stolen tens or even hundreds of millions of pounds. There is no suggestion whatsoever that any member of Mansur’s family has outstanding bank loans.

Doubts have also arisen about the article’s authorship. It is credited to a “William Fry,” but a reverse image search of the accompanying photo shows it is a stock image linked to numerous different names, raising questions about who actually wrote the piece.

Palatine Media denies any connection to the article’s creation. “We have nothing to do with, and know nothing of, the authorship of this article,” a spokesperson said.

Asked why the article failed to support the firm’s own corruption claim, the spokesperson explained that the firm had never stated “it represented the gospel truth,” merely that “like numerous articles from many media outlets, it raises legitimate concerns about the current situation in Bangladesh that we believe are worthy of MPs’ consideration.”

Regardless of Palatine Media’s justification, its email appears to contravene the Code of Conduct of the UK’s Chartered Institute of Public Relations, which states that professional lobbyists must “provide information that is accurate and true,” “make a reasonable effort to verify statements,” and “be clear about what they don’t know to be accurate or true.” It further specifies that “no information should be deliberately omitted or obscured from briefings, statements or other material … where to do so would potentially create a misleading impression.”

Palatine Media’s refusal to disclose its client also seems likely to breach these standards, which stipulate: “Professional lobbyists must tell you who they are and whom they represent—including the nature of their client’s or employer’s interests.”

In response, the Palatine Media spokesperson insisted the firm was not at fault. “We’re not lobbyists, and we weren’t lobbying,” they said.

The public relations firm’s website notes that its team—led by Conal Walsh—has assisted clients in transactions totalling several billion dollars. “We have provided key support for private clients or senior managers seeking to enhance or protect their personal reputations, and helped numerous large and small organisations achieve success in strategically important campaigns,” it states.

Commenting on Palatine Media’s actions, Mansur said, “Now that I am serious about asset recovery and am trying to build both domestic and international support for this cause, there is a deliberate campaign to tarnish my reputation in the public eye.”

Nevertheless, the hired PR firm’s efforts have failed to escape scrutiny.

The Guardian reported that members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Responsible Tax and Corruption, who received the email prior to a session with Mansur, have referred the matter to parliamentary cyber security advisers, as well as to the Foreign Affairs Committee, which is investigating disinformation. “If it is the case that this communication is an attempt to mislead UK politicians when it comes to a very serious corruption scandal, then I think we should be very concerned,” APPG member Phil Brickell told The Guardian. “I urge the relevant parliamentary authorities to investigate thoroughly – we must get to the bottom of who paid for this, and why, in order to understand how we can best protect ourselves.”

Since its formation, the interim government has faced major challenges in ensuring accountability for what it calls unprecedented corruption during the Awami League’s 15-and-a-half-year autocracy, along with countering disinformation about Bangladesh’s situation post-July 2024. This episode—illustrative of the fallen Awami League’s unrepentant modus operandi—came to a head but ultimately fell short of producing the outcome the Awami League had hoped for.●