The online commercial news and intelligence service Asia Pulse writes that the arrests follow a government-issued list naming 50 prominent individuals suspected of corrupt activities, and requiring them to submit statements on their wealth within 72 hours or risk having their property and assets seized. “The Bangladesh army chief said Tuesday that a corrupt elite had accumulated huge wealth meant for the poor,” writes the Financial Times.

As leader of the interim government charged by the constitution to oversee elections between presidential terms, Fakhruddin Ahmed vowed last month to flush out corrupt elements before holding elections. Originally scheduled for January 11, 2007, the International Herald Tribune reports that Bangladesh’s presidential election was postponed indefinitely due to political impasse and social unrest.