Begum Para, Toronto

Begum Para (Bengali: বেগম পাড়া) is the colloquial name of a neighborhood in Toronto, Canada primarily populated by upper-class Bangladeshis.

[3] In Begum Para, wives and children of the Bangladeshi elite live a luxurious life with the illegal money sent by their husbands.

[10] To the Bangladeshi people, media and legislative bodies, the term Begum Para refers to houses or places of residence purchased in Canada with smuggled dollars by money launderers.

[1][19][21] The Anti-Corruption Commission asked the government to provide a list of its officials who bought homes in Begum Para.

[25] In a press briefing, Foreign Minister Abulkalam Abdul Momen said, “Our general idea is that politicians live there.

Some of our businessmen have bought houses there as well.”[26][27] It is reported that the fugitive Prashanta Kumar Halder has also settled in Begum Para after smuggling ৳3,600 crore.

[7][6][28] According to Global Financial Integrity, a Washington-based research firm, around US$6 billion was smuggled out of Bangladesh in 2015 through trade manipulation.