Dhaka, May 6 -- A former US official has claimed that the government secretly diverted $21 trillion in taxpayer funds between 1998 and 2015 to build a vast underground network of bunkers for the elite and high-ranking officials to survive a potential "near-extinction event".

Catherine Austin Fitts, who served as assistant secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Housing under then President George HW Bush, made the startling allegation during an episode of "The Tucker Carlson Show," hosted by former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson.

She stated that between fiscal year 1998 and fiscal year 2015, undocumented adjustments totalling $21 trillion were made, with public funds being used to build an extensive network of underground facilit...