The new year marked six months since Bangladesh’s interim government took power following the collapse of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government after weeks of sustained protests. The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, pledged a decisive break from what it characterized as the ‘robbery of the Awami League.’ It promised to root out corruption and end embezzlement. Yet, barely half a year in, the government seems mired in contradictions and accusations of political score-settling.

Case in point: recent investigations into Bangladeshis who own property in the UAE have primarily focused on those with reported links to the Awami League. The analysis found 461 Bangladeshis who own properties around Dubai. Yet, there are some interesting and noteworthy omissions.

One such omission is Mehreen Sarah Mansur, the daughter of Ahsan Mansur, the interim government’s newly appointed head of the country’s central bank. A glance at Mehreen’s social media offers an unfiltered glimpse into her life of excessive luxury. Her accounts are filled with images of sun-soaked holidays, designer goods stashed in first-class cabins, and an endless parade of expensive indulgences. For someone whose father has positioned himself as a crusader against excess and corruption, her conspicuous wealth stands as a glaring contradiction.

This hypocrisy becomes harder to ignore as Bangladesh’s economy flounders. Inflation is soaring, and interest rates have been hiked above 12%. Bangladeshis grappling with these challenges may soon start asking difficult questions: How does Ahsan Mansur’s daughter live in such extravagant comfort while the country struggles under severe financial strain? And how is it that Ahsan Mansur himself can relax in a three-story glass-and-steel ‘farmhouse’ while others tighten their belts?

Mehreen appears to have lived in lavish opulence for some time. Raised just outside of Washington, D.C., she attended an all-girls Catholic school and traveled widely from a young age. Having won what outsiders might deem the ‘jackpot of a life of luxury,’ she has appeared on magazine covers wearing designer clothes, pursued a range of elite careers, and continues to live a life of luxury despite no clear sources of income.

In her early years, Mehreen pursued several ventures, including a popular blog, a fashion line, and a jewelry business, before relocating to Dhaka in her early twenties. There, she sought to establish herself as a restaurateur. While she expressed a desire to offer high-quality food “at affordable prices so everyone can come and enjoy,” her establishments catered primarily to an elite clientele, specializing in upscale Western cuisine and sushi.

Currently, Mehreen resides in Dubai, where her lifestyle reflects extraordinary affluence. She is frequently seen attending fashion events, driving luxury cars, and showcasing watches worth thousands of pounds, many of which were gifts from her father. Despite her self-styled title of entrepreneur, she rarely mentions any active business ventures on her social media.

One of her few known initiatives, the Watchers Foundation—which provides food, education, and healthcare to underprivileged children—has shown little activity in recent years. The foundation’s Facebook page has been dormant since 2023, and its website still states that it is “launching soon.” Mehreen has not referenced the foundation on her social accounts since May 2021. However, she has consistently documented other aspects of her life, including extravagant shopping excursions, appearances at cryptocurrency galas, and the lavish interior decoration of her “alternate” residence in Dhaka.

It’s hard not to wonder why The Daily Star glossed over details of Mehreen’s opulent international lifestyle. Perhaps the interim government intervened? After all, it’s not a great look when the daughter of the country’s head banker is out jetsetting while her father hikes interest rates to above 12% and inflation soars.

Ultimately, it underlines a fundamental level of hypocrisy at the highest levels of the interim government. As the new regime pursues a path of retribution and blame for its economic woes, perhaps a peek behind the curtain will reveal that it is not the paragon of virtue it positions itself to be.