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Tk 45,000cr stuck in shady loans
Eight banks provide loans to directors of other banks in a murky practice, bringing significant risks to the entire sector

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Directors of eight private banks borrowed heavily from each other's banks in reciprocal lending practices fraught with serious risks. Some banks went one step further and lent thousands of crores to relatives of these banks' chairmen or directors.

The loans going in and out of these eight banks for directors amounted to Tk 25,000 crore at the end of 2023, according to their financial reports analysed by The Daily Star. Apart from this, four of these lenders provided around Tk 20,000 crore to the relatives of the bank directors. That means the total reciprocal loans sanctioned for these directors and their relatives amounted to Tk 45,000 crore. Most of these loans changed hands in the last five years.

Over the last three months, The Daily Star analysed the financial reports of the 51 scheduled banks currently operating in Bangladesh and found that no other banks except these eight were engaged in such lending practices.

The banks are Exim Bank, Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank, National Bank, IFIC Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Union Bank and Global Islami Bank.

These banks are known for their questionable banking practices and were allegedly linked with the just-ousted Awami League government. During Sheikh Hasina's 15-year rule, powerful business groups with banking assets, including S Alam, Beximco, Nassa and Sikder Group, thrived on murky politics and bent rules, exposing the entire financial sector to serious risks.

The combined contribution of the eight bank directors in question to the lenders' paid-up capital is TK 2,400 crore, or about 5 percent of the Tk 45,000 crore loans they have taken from each other.

Most of these groups were not capable of getting loans if their business practices and financial health were taken into account, and so they lent reciprocally.

As the central bank rules prohibit the lending of a bank to its own directors, the directors deployed this cunning method. This trend is not new, but it spread in the banking sector in the last seven to eight years, officials said.

"As most of the bank owners are also successful in their own businesses, the central bank cannot prevent banks from lending to the owners of other banks," a banking analyst said.

According to a 2014 central bank circular, commercial banks can lend to their directors' firms up to 50 percent of their contribution to the paid-up capital.

Four of these banks declined to comment for this story, and two others said the loans were sanctioned under relevant laws. The Daily Star could not reach the two other banks.

Bankers say such reciprocal lending is risky for the relevant banks and the banking sector as a whole.

This type of borrowing indicates that these directors helped each other out with depositors' money as they would find it difficult to secure loans from other banks, they add.

Most of the loans were approved following the orders of the directors, and bank officials had nothing to do, according to three mid-level bankers at Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank and Exim Bank.

Requesting anonymity, they said several banks lent some companies large sums, in many cases multiple times their annual sales.

"So how will they repay the loans?" said one of the three bankers. His view was echoed by the two others.

'UNDUE BENEFITS'

Data show Islami Bank and Social Islami Bank started engaging in reciprocal lending in 2016 when these two banks were taken over by S Alam Group.

Exim Bank, National Bank, and IFIC Bank have already been involved in such lending practices for years, but on a limited scale. The size of such loans multiplied over the last 10 years.

When banks lend to relatives of their directors, they put the banks at risk since the financial strength of the borrowers is not seriously considered while sanctioning these loans, experts say.

These borrowers usually get undue benefits in taking loans, and repayment. Several banks are already facing risks because of such lending.

The financial statements of the companies in question should be analysed to see whether their assets and liabilities support the lending, Bangladesh Bank spokesman Mezbaul Haque told The Daily Star.

"If it is over-lending, the central bank will take action," he said.

EXIM BANK

Exim Bank provided Tk 8,115 crore, the highest amount of reciprocal loans, to several firms owned by directors of other banks. Of the amount, Tk 3,982 crore went to three companies owned by S Alam Group, whose chairman is Mohammed Saiful Alam, also chairman of First Security Islami Bank.

For its part, First Security Islami Bank lent Nassa Group, whose outstanding loan at the bank was Tk 734 crore at the end of 2023.

Nazrul Islam Mazumder, chairman of Exim Bank, himself took loans from most of these banks in the name of Nassa Group, which he owns. Nassa Group also secured loans from Islami Bank, where S Alam's son Ahsanul Alam is the chairman.

Exim Bank lent Tk 801 crore to Unitex Spinning and its associates, whose managing director Belal Ahmed is the chairman of Social Islami Bank (SIBL).

Nassa Group's outstanding loan to SIBL stands at Tk 651 crore.

Beximco and its various concerns' loan outstanding at Exim Bank was Tk 661 crore at the end of 2023. Beximco's Vice-chairman Salman F Rahman is also chairman of IFIC Bank. To IFIC Bank, Nassa Group's outstanding loan is Tk 637 crore.

Exim Bank lent Tk 2,671 crore to PowerPac Mutiara Keraniganj Power Plant, a sister concern of Sikder Group, controlled by Rick Haque Sikder and his brother Ron Haque Sikder. They had also directorships at the National Bank before they were forced out by the regulator.

Nassa Group's loan outstanding to National Bank was Tk 1,632 crore at the end of 2023.

Exim Bank's financial reports show Mazumder and his family contributed around Tk 250 crore to the paid-up capital of Exim Bank by holding 25 crore shares.

Under central bank rules, he is eligible to secure only Tk 125 crore (50 percent of the share value) of loans from the bank.

"This is a concentration of lending and this type of lending creates risks for a bank though this loan has not become defaulted yet," said Muhammad A (Rumee) Ali, a veteran banker.

"If any big borrower defaults, it would make the bank vulnerable. A good bank usually does not allow this type of lending due to such concerns," he said.

To avoid the loan concentration, the central bank rolled out a rule of a single exposure limit. But these banks have systematically dodged the rule by taking loans in the name of several firms.

"From the banking side, it is not difficult to find out who is the ultimate beneficiary of the loans, so they should be careful," said Ali, a former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank.

SOCIAL ISLAMI BANK

Social Islami Bank (SIBL) provided loans of Tk 1,700 crore to directors of other banks, and its Chairman Belal Ahmed took loans from their banks. For instance, it lent Tk 1,049 crore to several firms of Infinia Group whose chairman is Ahsanul Alam, also chairman of Islami Bank.

In return, Islami Bank lent Tk 2,221 crore to two firms of Unitex Group whose managing director is Belal Ahmed.

Apart from these reciprocal lending, SIBL lent Tk 3,199 crore to several firms and sister concerns of S Alam Group. SIBL Chairman Belal Ahmed and S Alam Group's Saiful Alam are relatives.

Unitex Group holds around 4.5 crore shares in SIBL. This means the company's contribution to the paid-up capital of the bank is less than Tk 50 crore. Several relatives of S Alam also hold shares at the bank and their combined contribution to the bank's paid-up capital is around Tk 230 crore.

ISLAMI BANK

Islami Bank reciprocally lent Tk 4,333 crore to directors of other banks.

Apart from this, the bank's lending to S Alam Group's several firms alone stood at Tk 14,167 crore.

In Islami Bank, Ahsanul Alam, who is the bank chairman, and his relatives hold shares equivalent to Tk 350 crore of the bank's paid-up capital.

Since S Alam Group did not invest in Islami Bank in its own name, the bank has no legal binding in lending to the Group's companies.

OTHER BANKS

Similar practices were widespread at National Bank, IFIC Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank and Union Bank.

National Bank for example lent Tk 7,080 crore to several companies whose owners are also directors of other banks. These loans were provided to Beximco Group, Nassa Group, and S Alam Group.

Sikder Group, in return, received loans from IFIC Bank, Exim Bank, and First Security Islami Bank.

Similarly, IFIC Bank lent TK 1,075 crore to Nassa Group and Sikder Group. In return, Beximco Group got loans from Exim Bank and National Bank.

IFIC Bank provided loans of Tk 1,020 crore to Sreepur Township Ltd, where Beximco is a joint venture partner.

Salman F Rahman and his son Ahmed Shayan Rahman hold 4.11 percent or 7.51 crore shares of the bank worth Tk 75 crore.

First Security Islami Bank provided those types of loans amounting Tk 2,442 crore.

Global Islami Bank and Union Group's reciprocal lending to each other was Tk 1,618 crore.

Several relatives of S Alam hold 30 crore shares at Global Islami Bank, meaning their investment is around Tk 300 crore in the bank. In Union Bank, S Alam Group holds shares worth Tk 570 crore.

The Daily Star first contacted most of these banks on June 15 and followed up with them on August 12-13. Representatives from National Bank, First Security Islami Bank, IFIC Bank, and Exim Bank did not respond or declined to comment.

Zafar Alam, chief operating officer at SIBL, said they sanctioned all loans in line with banking rules, and that the borrowers, including S Alam Group, are eligible for big loans.

Islami Bank CEO Mohammed Monirul Moula said they have been investing in Nassa Group and S Alam Group since the 1990s, and that the two groups' performance was excellent.​
 

Tk 3.11cr recovered from ex-senior secretary's house

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Photo: Collected

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) recovered a huge amount of money, including local and foreign currencies worth around Tk 3.11 crore, from the house of a former senior secretary on Babar Road in the capital's Mohammadpur area today.

The DMP informed the matter through a text message around 7:30pm today.

Based on a tip off, the DMP conducted a raid and recovered the money from house no. 29/2 and 29/3, Block F, Babar Road in Mohammadpur, according to the message.

DMP sources said the house belongs to Shah Kamal, former senior secretary at the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.

He served the ministry from 2015 to 2019 as secretary and from 2019 to 2020 as senior secretary.

According to DMP, it recovered around Tk 3.01 crore in cash, prize bonds worth Tk 74,400 and different foreign currencies including US Dollar worth Tk 10.03 lakh.​
 

Is dual citizenship to blame for money laundering?
“Is Bangladesh a place of looters?” – this question was raised by the High Court last month.

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VISUAL: TEENI AND TUNI

"Is Bangladesh a place of looters?" – this question was raised by the High Court last month. The court asked this question referring to a recent Bangla report, whose headline roughly translates to "Festival of purchasing properties abroad." The court's question is indicative of what is going on in the financial sector of Bangladesh right now. But to blame "dual citizenship" for the ever-growing culture of looting as well as money laundering may be inappropriate.

The act of earning a second citizenship in another country has never been a main contributor to trafficking funds overseas. While investigating the main reasons or avenues of illicit outflows of funds, not a single report of the US-based think tank Global Financial Integrity has blamed dual citizenship as a vital reason. Rather, dual citizenship has proven to be a boon to remittance inflows in Bangladesh, and those inflows rescued the economy from sliding into a full-scale disaster emerging from the dollar crisis.

As reports in February unveiled, the US is the top source of remittances to Bangladesh, surpassing Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The US requires residency or citizenship to allow Bangladeshi people to earn and send dollars to their home country. Other European countries that award citizenship to Bangladeshi people are gradually turning out to be increasingly reliable sources of remittance income. In contrast, Middle-Eastern countries are gradually losing their oil-based revenue because of the rise in green substitutes. These nations are comparatively restrictive in offering their citizenship to Bangladeshi workers. As a result, the relative share of remittance from these countries is dwindling.

The court's direction in framing causality may be mistaken. Dual citizenship is not the root factor for looting wealth from the country. It is the very "Bangladeshi style of rewarding for looting banks" that is to blame for the financial haemorrhage that Bangladesh is facing now. In the name of loan rescheduling, the general amnesty conferred upon the big defaulters by the central bank is a major reason why the act of looting has triggered a renaissance of stashing funds overseas of late. Recently, a former central bank governor commented that the concessions given to defaulters in this country have no parallel in any country or in history.

Of course, the looters are sometimes seeking dual citizenship under the "investment residency" quota in different countries by showing their enormous wealth, which they gained through the loose banking rules approved by the government. Getting citizenship in developed countries is hard and problematic for them, because those countries will ask for evidence of valid sources. These looters prefer parking their funds in countries where there are less queries. In the end, they park their ill-gotten money in the Swiss Bank which does not ask anything. Thus, allowing these looters to steal and get away with it in the first place is the root cause of looting, not dual citizenship.

Hundreds of cases on defaulted loans are pending with legal institutions, and there has been no exemplary punishment for those who plundered public money. That impunity induces the delinquent borrowers to acquire dual citizenship in order to protect their future overseas. The trend of money laundering as well as defaulting on loans is simultaneously rising since the government allowed extended family-based directorship in private banks in 2017. It invariably helped banks turn into private shops for siblings and cronies, and largely ruined the corporate culture. These institutional changes and privileges to the tycoons are at the root of money laundering. The tardiest legal system has refuelled the culture of looting. A former caretaker government adviser recently blamed court stay orders on big default cases – a process that has made the wound even worse.

The justices commented that dual citizenship holders have less responsibility towards the country as their hearts are divided. Thousands of students migrate to developed nations every year for higher studies. When they earn citizenship after getting jobs, they send money back to their families. They also enrich their birthplace by delivering their ideas, technology, and expertise – which economists define as trickle-down benefits. Many Bangladeshis migrate overseas through lotteries or family visas. They struggle a lot, but still send money back to their home country. By any means, these are not any instances of either less responsibility or divided hearts.

Forty-nine percent of all countries now allow dual citizenship and most of them are developed or middle-income countries. After understanding how beneficial dual citizenship can be for Bangladesh in an increasingly globalised world, the government on February 27 added another 44 countries on top of the existing 57 countries where Bangladeshis can get dual citizenship. This step deserves appreciation as timely and farsighted for a super-densely populated country like Bangladesh.

While Bangladesh appears to be liberal in allowing dual citizenship, both Pakistan and India are highly restrictive. But the amount of money laundered out of India or Pakistan is no less than that from Bangladesh. The 2021 Global Financial Integrity Report shows that Bangladesh lost the third highest quantity of trade-related outflows ($8.3 billion) after Pakistan ($8.5 billion) and India ($67.5 billion) annually over 2009-2018. The revenue loss was 17 percent for Bangladesh, 19 percent for Pakistan, and 20 percent for India. The nature of citizenship seems to have played no role in their case.

Poor governance in the financial sector, politicised interventions into banking affairs, allowing massive clemency to habitual defaulters, rewarding money launderers in the national budget and, finally, not punishing any big defaulters or stock market scammers are the main reasons why money laundering and buying properties abroad by a handful of bandits have skyrocketed. On February 6, the agriculture minister acknowledged the evolution of Begum Paras in Canada, US and Dubai. It has nothing to do with dual citizenship, which has been in place among nations for decades.

If anyone is politically pampered and plots to be a wilful defaulter, they needn't be overseas to remain safe. They are much safer in what the court labels as a "place of looters." If they can somehow manage a nomination for the next election, this place will turn into a "paradise of plundering" for them. Why would anyone care about dual citizenship then?

Dr Birupaksha Paul is a professor of economics at the State University of New York at Cortland in the US.​
 
Global Defence Corp. (a supposedly US-based thinktank) is reporting that Hasina, Rehana, Rehana's daughter Tulip (British MP) and Hasina's son Joy conspired with Russians (RosAtom, Russia's Nuclear plant builder) to embezzle close to 5 Billion through various offshore accounts at Malaysian banks.


Of course, if this is indeed true - one cannot blame RosAtom, they were probably forced into the lucrative deal by Hasina's insistence. It is also no secret that Hasina gave Indians complete access as contractors to the project, their people (RAW operatives) know the ins and oouts of the plant and its blueprints. The more I think about it - the more angry I get, what a traitor to the country this woman was, both politically and financially! All because Modi gave her assurances to let her stay in power!!




@Saif bhai please keep me honest, I don't know if the source Global Defense Corp. is a legit entity.
 
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S Alam group, Associates: Tk 95,000cr loans taken from 6 banks

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S Alam Group and its associate companies took out Tk 95,331 crore between 2017 and June this year from six banks, with 79 percent of the sum coming from Islami Bank.

This amount is equivalent to 5.78 percent of the banking sector's total outstanding loans as of March.

However, the total amount taken from these six banks is likely higher, according to Bangladesh Bank and bank officials with knowledge of the matter.

Documents pieced together by The Daily Star show that most of the loans were taken by bypassing banking rules and regulations, which is a testament to how the Chattogram-based conglomerate exerted its influence on the country's banking sector.

Founded in 1985 by Mohammad Saiful Alam, a relative of former Awami League politician Akhtaruzzanan Chowdhury Babu and former Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, S Alam Group has grown into one of the largest conglomerates in Bangladesh.

For example, within one month of opening an account with Islami Bank's Chaktai branch in Chattogram, a modest corrugated tin seller Murad Enterprise was given Tk 890 crore without even verifying the need for the funds and the company's financial capacity to pay back the sum.

A year later, another loan of Tk 110 crore was given to the company, which turned out to be a shadow company of S Alam Group, BB documents show.

What is worse is that the bank, where S Alam Group has controlling stakes, took very little collateral from Murad Enterprise.

The conglomerate and companies with ties to it took Tk 74,900 crore from Islami Bank, whose chairman since June last year is Alam's eldest son Ahsanul Alam.

Of the amount, Tk 26,000 crore was borrowed in the name of its subsidiaries, and the remaining amount was in the name of 29 associate companies, such as Nabil Group, Desh Bandhu Group, Unitex Group, and Anantex Group.

Islami Bank's Khatunganj branch in Chattogram is particularly noteworthy: a staggering Tk 35,924 crore was taken from the branch through 10 companies, documents show.

S Alam Group and its shadow companies, such as Nabil Foods, Nabil Auto Rice Mills, MS AJ Trade International, and Anowara Trade International, secured loans amounting to Tk 29,575 crore from the Rajshahi branch of Islami Bank.

Another Tk 23,900 crore was taken from Islami's offshore banking unit and other branches over the years in violation of rules.

Rules were also not followed by state-run Janata when extending loans to the business giant, whose interests range from commodity trading to fishery, from construction materials to real estate, from textiles to media, from intercity buses to shipping, and from power and energy to banks and insurance.

S Alam Group and its affiliate companies took Tk 13,400 crore from state-run Janata Bank.

About Tk 10,449.45 crore was taken in the name of S Alam subsidiaries, with as much as 90 percent of the loans taken from Janata's Sadharan Bima Corporate Branch in Chattogram.

The remaining Tk 2,950.55 crore was taken from Janata by its associate companies.

Janata's lending to S Alam Group breached the bank's single borrower exposure limit by an alarming margin.

According to banking law, a bank is prohibited from lending more than 25 percent of its paid-up capital to a single party. At the end of June this year, Janata's paid-up capital stood at Tk 2,314 crore.

Some Tk 4,200 crore was taken from Social Islami Bank (SIBL), whose chairman Belal Ahmed is Alam's son-in-law. Five more relatives of Alam are on the board of SIBL.

Some Tk 2,000 crore was taken from Union Bank, whose board consists of Alam's siblings Halima Begum, Osman Goni, and Md Rashedul Alam and his wife Marzina Sharmin. Their nephew, Mohammad Mostan Billah Adil, is also on the board.

S Alam Group and its associate companies took Tk 574 crore from Global Islami Bank (GIB), whose vice-chairman is Alam's daughter Maimuna Khanam. Seven other relatives of Alam, including his brother Shahidul Alam and sister Rokea Yasmin, are on the board of the 11-year-old bank.

Some Tk 257 crore was taken from First Security Islami Bank (FSIBL), whose chairman is Alam himself. Alam's wife, Farzana Parveen, and four other relatives are on the board of FSIBL.

If the loans taken by its associate companies are added, the total amounts taken from SIBL, FSIBL, Union, and GIB will go up, according to industry insiders.

In light of the gross irregularities, the BB yesterday restricted the lending activities of the banks save for Janata.

Alam; Subrata Kumar Bhowmik, executive director of S Alam Group; the managing directors of the six banks; and BB spokesman Md Mezbaul Haque could not be reached for comment.​
 

6 banks with ties to S Alam barred from lending

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The Bangladesh Bank restricted six banks linked to S Alam Group from lending activities to prevent their situation from deteriorating further amid allegations of wrongdoing.

Experts say the restriction may help boost liquidity in the six cash-strapped banks, which were all running their activities by taking special liquidity support from the central bank.

The banking regulator made the decision yesterday through a letter sent to the banks, namely Islami Bank Bangladesh, First Security Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank, Union Bank, Global Islami Bank, and Bangladesh Commerce Bank.

However, the lenders will be able to disburse agriculture loans, SME loans against deposits, and loans under incentive packages up to Tk 5 crore, the BB letter added.

In order to provide loans above Tk 5 crore, the respective bank will have to get prior approval from the central bank.

It also prohibited the six banks from rescheduling any previous loans until further notice.

Alongside that, they cannot extend or increase exisThe central bank also ordered the six banks to submit monthly repayment data of its 20 largest borrowers.

"The decision was taken in order to protect further deterioration of the banks, and protect depositors' funds," the letter sent by the central bank read.

The central bank passed the order to bring discipline to the banks, said Syed Mahbubur Rahman, a former chairman of the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB), adding that such policies had previously been issued for state-run banks.

As the banks have some liquidity issues, it may help improve the situation, he said.

The liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) of Islamic banks in Bangladesh tumbled to 58.7 percent at the end of last year from 87.7 percent in 2022 and 188.5 percent in 2021, according to a report released by Fitch Ratings, an American credit rating agency.

Excess liquidity in the sector plummeted to Tk 1,518 crore at the end of March this year, a 91.3 percent drop compared to September of 2022.

These six banks have long been battling a liquidity crisis. As such, they were utilising the central bank's special liquidity support until last week, when the central bank cut that facility.

Aside from liquidity issues, the banks are also contending with high amounts of non-performing loans (NPLs). The total bad loans of the six banks rose around 8 percent year-on-year to Tk 9,674 crore in 2023.

"We also restrict lending by some branches when we see that the NPLs of the branches are high. This is a common practice to bring back discipline," added Rahman, who is also managing director and CEO of Mutual Trust Bank.

In recent weeks, several reports have come out indicating that Mohammad Saiful Alam, the owner of S Alam Group, borrowed large amounts from these six banks using companies that exist only on paper.

Most of these loans may sour, according to experts.

There are 10 Shariah-based banks in Bangladesh, with five owned by the S Alam Group.

A top official of a leading bank said such restrictions may improve the banks' situation.

However, he cautioned that it may impact Shariah-based financing in the country as half of the Islamic banks will remain out of financing activities.

"Let the banks survive first and set aside worries about its impact on Shariah-based banking for this moment," the official said.

"There are five other Shariah-based banks in the country and two of them are doing well. So, people can go to those banks for loans in the meantime. The restriction will not remain year after year, so they will come back soon."

If the banks cannot survive, Shariah-based banking will be squeezed. So, this is a good decision, he said.

The banker hoped the banks would bounce back strongly after structural reforms and contribute to Shariah-based banking again.

As of 2023, Islamic banking assets accounted for over 25 percent of the overall banking sector's assets in Bangladesh.

However, despite impressive growth and potential, the sector has been facing a significant crisis since the middle of 2022 due to loan irregularities, scams and a lack of good governance at some Shariah-based banks.

The deposit growth of Islamic banks plummeted to 2.9 percent year-on-year in 2022 from 20.1 percent the year prior, according to the central bank's Financial Stability Report 2022.​
 

ACC widens net to fight corruption
Solamain Salman 20 August, 2024, 23:51

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The Anti-Corruption Commission is widening its anti-graft net across the country to bring corruption suspects under its scrutiny over amassing illegal wealth and money laundering.

A huge number of corruption allegations gathered at the commission, but the scrutiny could not be carried out due to pressure from ruling groups during the successive tenures of now deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, ACC officials said.

With Hasina resigning as prime minister and fleeing to India amid the student-led mass uprising on August 5, ACC officials said they have now gathered courage and strength to scrutinise graft allegations against many powerful people.

After Hasina’s fall, the commission has intensified its activities to catch the corruption suspects, while complaints have already been submitted to the commission against several dozen former ministers, lawmakers, bureaucrats, and businesspeople, said officials concerned.

As a part of the fresh ACC move, the commission has prepared a primary list of around 200 graft suspects to bring them under ACC net for inquiry, a director general of the commission told New Age on Tuesday.

Apart from starting new inquiries, the commission also took initiatives to dispose of pending inquiries and cases, a task that it could not complete due to political pressures, commission officials said.

As part of the fresh move, the ACC launched inquiries against 63 individuals in the past four working days for graft allegations.

The 63 graft suspects include 20 former ministers, 30 former lawmakers, two former bureaucrats, two top police officials, and two former officials of the Prime Minister’s Office.

ACC on Tuesday took decisions to conduct inquiries against seven people, including former shipping minister Shajahan Khan and primary and mass education minister Mostafizur Rahman Fizar, over their alleged involvement in amassing illegal wealth.

The decision came at a meeting held at the agency’s headquarters with commission chairman Mohammad Moinuddin Abdullah in the chair.

The other five graft suspects are former lawmakers Jannat Ara Henry, Ashim Kumar Ukil and his wife Opu Ukil, the prime minister’s former deputy press secretary Ashraful Alam Khokon, and the PMO staff, Jahangir Alam.

The allegations against the two former ministers and three lawmakers include amassing a huge amount of movable and immovable wealth illegally through corruption and irregularities during the past three consecutive terms of the Awami League government.

The ACC decided to conduct an inquiry against the former prime minister’s former deputy press secretary, Ashraful Alam Khokon, over allegations of amassing illegal wealth.

Khokon, during his tenure as the former PM’s deputy press secretary from August 18, 2013 to February 2021, amassed several hundred crores of money through corruption and irregularities, according to allegations.

The allegations said Khokon was involved in gold syndicates, currency smuggling, and illegal VoIP businesses.

Khokon amassed several crores of money in the name of himself and his family members through taking bribes and financial benefits from various business entities, including Nagad and Max Group, according to the allegations.

ACC also initiated another inquiry against the former PMO household staff, Jahangir Alam, who allegedly amassed wealth worth Tk 400 crore.

Jahangir and his family members have plots of land and houses in the capital and in his village home in Noakhali.

About the intensified ACC move, ACC secretary Khorsheda Yasmeen told New Age that they got allegations against ministers, lawmakers, and others earlier, but there was a delay in taking decisions due to ‘procedural causes.’

About the move, Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman told New Age that the move might be viewed as welcome news, quite belated though, in the backdrop of the self-inflicted credibility gap of the ACC.

‘While people will expect to see specific progress to ensure exemplary accountability of such erstwhile high-profile individuals for their abuse of power, this will remain yet another example that ACC tends to act against the so-called big fish only when they are out of power,’ he said.

It will not be unjustified to question that by failing to take action before their humiliating downfall, the ACC has in reality protected their corruption and violated their own mandate as well as the relevant law, he observed.

‘Be that as it may, nothing can justify any underestimation of the imperatives for a thorough overhaul of this institution as part of the state-restructuring to meet the aspirations of a new Bangladesh as articulated by the student-led people’s uprising,’ he said.

On Monday, the ACC took decisions to conduct inquiries against the ousted AL government’s 45 ministers, state ministers, lawmakers, secretaries, and beneficiaries on the charges of amassing illegal wealth through corruption.

Most of the former lawmakers and ministers, however, of the ousted government have either fled or gone into hiding since the fall of the regime through a mass uprising.

ACC also decided to start an inquiry against the former senior secretary for the disaster management and relief ministry Shah Kamal over allegations of corruption, abuse of power, misconduct, bribery, and amassing illegal wealth.

The commission launched an inquiry on Monday also against former Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University vice-chancellor Professor Sharfuddin Ahmed and his private secretary Russell over allegations of receiving bribes of around Tk 100 crore through illegal appointments.

Apart from this, it also started an inquiry against the National Board of Revenue’s second secretary Arjina Khatun on the charges of amassing illegal wealth.

On Sunday, ACC started an inquiry against former finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal’s wife Kashmeri Kamal, their daughter Nafisa Kamal, and three former lawmakers over allegations of embezzling Tk 20,000 crore by operating a syndicate to send workers to Malaysia.

The three former lawmakers are retired lieutenant general Masud Uddin Chowdhury, Nizam Uddin Hazari, and Benazir Ahmed.

The commission also decided to run an inquiry against former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed, former Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia, and DMP’s former Detective Branch chief Harun Or Rashid.

Earlier on Thursday, the commission decided to initiate an inquiry against former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan and five others over amassing illegal wealth through taking bribes and money laundering.​
 

Stop extortion in transport sector
Bringing discipline in this vital sector is paramount

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VISUAL: STAR

It is disturbing to know that soon after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, BNP-affiliated transport leaders have emerged on the scene and taken control of major transport organisations across the country. According to a Prothom Alo report, the offices of Dhaka Road Transport Owners' Association and Bangladesh Road Transport Owners' Association, from where the transport sector used to be controlled by Awami League leaders, are now under the control of their BNP counterparts. Similarly, BNP men have taken control of almost all other transport organisations, bus terminals, and workers' unions.

Understandably, the main objective behind their push is to get their hands on extortion money. Reportedly, every year, around Tk 2,000 crore is collected by the transport owners' and workers' associations through extortion across the country. While about Tk 70 is collected openly from each bus or truck every day, there are various other fees, including "gate pass" fees or membership fees, that are collected from transport operators as daily, monthly, and sometimes one-time donations. According to a Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) study published in March, politically connected individuals or groups, traffic and highway police, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) officials, transport organisations, and staffers of municipalities or city corporations all get a share of this money, which shows how pervasive this culture of extortion has been.

The manoeuvring and manipulation of the public transport system remains a perennial source of pain and suffering for commuters and non-commuters alike.

Unfortunately, the transport sector is just one example where BNP-linked men are taking control of important public sectors. After the fall of Awami League, we have seen how BNP-affiliated people have been trying to assert their control in every other sector, such as the health sector. Recently, we have also seen how groups claiming allegiance to the BNP have been trying to take control of slums and footpaths in the city. This tendency must stop urgently.

Extortion is one of the key reasons for the chaos and lawlessness in the transport sector, so the interim government must find a sustainable solution to this problem. The transport organisations, including powerful owners' and workers' associations, must be represented by honest individuals who can save this sector from the crippling influences of corruption and irregularities, which have led to our roads becoming one of the most dangerous in the world. Reform of state institutions was a major goal of the student-led mass movement; and to attain that goal, politicisation of vital public sectors including transport must stop.​
 

Eliminate scope to whiten black money
FBCCI urges NBR

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The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) yesterday demanded the abolishment of a provision that allows black money to be whitened without scrutiny by paying a 15 percent tax.

The apex trade body voiced the demand during a meeting with Md Abdur Rahman Khan, newly appointed chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka, according to a press release.

"There cannot be any discrimination between honest and corrupt taxpayers. This type of amnesty should never be given again to ensure justice and remove social discrimination," said FBCCI President Mahbubul Alam.

Such a provision can never be desired when building a corruption-free society or state, he added.

Other members of the delegation included FBCCI Vice-President Md Munir Hussain and Directors Mohammad Fayazur Rahman Bhuiyan, MA Razzak Khan, and Abul Kasem Khan.

On his first day in the NBR office, Khan told reporters that the scope to whiten black money should not exist at all

"The amnesty for black money is unexpected and indecent," he said.

Alam also called on the NBR chairman to simplify customs duty processes for imported goods to ensure a business-friendly environment by removing complexities related to duty values, HS codes and product descriptions.

They further urged him to curb the harassment of taxpayers during audits and dishonest practices by officials.

To this end, they proposed creating a hotline, app or complaint centre for businesspeople that face harassment.

They also suggested that taxation should be automated, including the management of value-added tax (VAT) and income tax, and ensuring speedy implementation of the National Single Window (NSW).

Alam also emphasised the need to bring eligible taxpayers under the income tax net to increase the nation's tax-GDP ratio.

He added that the NBR needed reforms. In particular, it is important to separate policy and policy implementation, he said.

Appreciating the NBR's plan to review the existing tax rules by forming three task forces, the businessmen requested that all stakeholders concerned be included as members.

The new NBR chairman told businessmen that the participation of private sector stakeholders in the task forces, including from the FBCCI, would be ensured.

"We'll try to ease the business environment in the country. The NBR will remain alert so that there is no injustice against businessmen," Khan added.

He also urged businesspeople to provide specific information about dishonest officials and conduct commercial activities sincerely.​
 

ACC accelerates anti-graft drives across Bangladesh
Solamain Salman 01 September, 2024, 00:37

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The Anti-Corruption Commission’s activities to bring corruption suspects under scrutiny are gathering pace following the August 5 fall of the Awami League government amid a student-led mass uprising.

The commission has also expedited its probes into new graft allegations, while it has widened its net in a bid to bring more individuals under scrutiny after the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government had taken charge on August 8.

The anti-corruption agency’s data shows that it took decision for 93 new enquiries, mostly regarding relatively smaller corruption charges, from April 1 to June 30, this year.

But it took decision for new enquiries against around 100 people, including heavyweights like former ministers, lawmakers and bureaucrats, within only 12 working days of the new government.

During the time of the Awami League rule, numerous allegations against powerful individuals regarding amassing illegal wealth through corruption, irregularities, money laundering, and abuse of power were gathered at the commission.

The commission could not carry out investigation into these allegations due to pressure from corners associated with the then ruling Awami League, said its officials.

Now that the Awami League is no more in power and the hindrances are removed, the commission now feels strong enough to probe the graft allegations against many formerly powerful individuals, including former ministers, lawmakers, and money launderers, officials said.

Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman told New Age that the commission’s fresh move might be viewed as welcome news, quite belated though, in the backdrop of the self-inflicted credibility gap of the agency.

‘While people will expect to see specific progress to ensure exemplary accountability of such erstwhile high-profile individuals for their abuse of power, this will remain yet another example that ACC tends to act against the so-called big fish only when they are out of power,’ Iftekharuzzaman said.

It would not be unjustified to question that by failing to take action before their humiliating downfall, the anti-corruption agency had in reality protected their corruption and violated their own mandate as well as the relevant law, he observed.

‘Be that as it may, nothing can justify any underestimation of the imperatives for a thorough overhaul of this institution as part of the state-restructuring to meet the aspirations of a new Bangladesh as articulated by the student-led people’s uprising,’ he said.

The anti-corruption commission, meanwhile, is going to launch a combined drive against corruption and to recover illegal money from this week, said a top official of the commission on Thursday.

The drive will be conducted led by its enforcement unit with the help of its other based on the information of its intelligence wing, he added.

The commission in the past week also formed a panel to maintain the anti-corruption operations and support the law enforcement agencies.

The panel includes its deputy directors Debabrata Mondal, Md Humayun Kabir, Md Saiful Islam, and Md Tajul Islam Bhuiyan, and assistant directors Muhammad Zafar Sadeq Shibli and Shoyeb Ibne Alam.

The panel will assist in seizing evidence and handling legal matters during search operations.

Notably, after the interim government assumed power the commission is opening new enquiries one after another and resumed enquiries in pending probes.

Earlier, after submission of an allegation, scrutiny used to be kept long pending, but now it starts inquiry within 2–3 days of the submission of allegations.

Apart from starting new inquiries, the commission has also undertaken initiatives to dispose of pending inquiries and cases, a task that it could not complete due to political pressures, commission officials said.

After Hasina’s fall, the commission took decision to run inquiry against a number of former ministers, state ministers, lawmakers, secretaries, and beneficiaries on the charges of amassing illegal wealth through corruption.

As part of its fresh move, the commission has prepared a primary list of at least 200 graft suspects to bring them under its scrutiny, one of its directors general told New Age.

The commission’s inquiries have already been launched against a number of formerly powerful ministers, lawmakers, and businesspeople, including former ministers Asaduzzaman Khan, Dipu Moni, Anisul Huq, Hasan Mahmud, Golam Dastagir Gazi, Shajahan Khan, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed, Mostafizur Rahman Fizar, Tipu Munshi, Sadan Chandra Majumder, Imran Ahmed, and Mohibul Hassan Chowdhuey, former state ministers Nasrul Hamid, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Jakir Hossain, Kamal Ahmed Mojumder, and Sharif Ahmed, former lawmakers retired lieutenant general Masud Uddin Chowdhury, Nizam Uddin Hazari, Benazir Ahmed, Dhirendro Debnath Shambhu, Jannat Ara Henry, Ashim Kumar Ukil, Opu Ukil, and Shahe Alam, and the prime minister’s former deputy press secretary Ashraful Alam Khokon, former Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University vice-chancellor Sharfuddin Ahmed, former cabinet secretary Kabir Bin Anwar, former senior secretary Shah Kamal, National Board of Revenue second secretary Arjina Khatun, former Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia, and DMP’s former Detective Branch chief Harun Or Rashid, S Alam group chairman Mohammed Saiful Alam, and Padma bank former chairman Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat.

About the commission’s intensified move, its secretary Khorsheda Yasmeen said that they received allegations against ministers, lawmakers, and others earlier but there was a delay in taking decisions due to ‘procedural causes.’

‘We are starting new inquiries following the ACC law, and there is no special anything,’ she added.​
 

All govt employees asked to submit wealth statements

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The government has asked all government employees to submit their wealth statements.

Dr Md Mokhles ur Rahman Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration gave the instruction today, said Mohammad Zakir Hossain, senior information officer of the ministry.

On August 25, Prof Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser to the interim government, in his address to the nation said, "Government employees should regularly submit their wealth statements.‍"

"All our advisers will publish their asset details as soon as possible. Regular asset disclosure will be made mandatory for all government servants," he added.​
 

Judiciary staff must submit wealth statements in 10 working days
Says Asif Nazrul

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Asif Nazrul

Law Adviser Asif Nazrul today said officials and employees of the judiciary have to submit their wealth statements within 10 working days.

The adviser said this at a press briefing at the law ministry.

He further said all false and fraudulent cases filed between July 1 and August 5 in Dhaka city centring student movement will be withdrawn by Thursday.

Besides, all the cases filed against protesters of quota-reform movement for harassment would be withdrawn by August 31, he added.​
 

ACC yet to take legal action against Benazir, Matiur
Solamain Salman 02 September, 2024, 00:12

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Benazir Ahmed and Matiur Rahman

The Anti-Corruption Commission has yet to take legal action against former inspector general of police Benazir Ahmed and former National Board of Revenue official Matiur Rahman over amassing illegal wealth.

Although, the commission, during its recent inquiry, found a vast amount of movable and immovable assets owned by Benazir, Matiur and their family members, as of Sunday it has not filed any case in this regard.

Amid massive allegations of corruption, the anti-corruption agency on April 18 decided to run an inquiry into the assets of Benazir and his family members, but Benazir left the country 15 days after the probe had been launched.

Before his departure, the former police chief withdrew an enormous amount of money from his bank accounts, and now he, along with his family, is enjoying a luxurious life abroad thanks to the poor surveillance of the anti-corruption commission.

Nearly four and a half months have elapsed since the beginning of the inquiry, but the commission has yet to file a case against him despite available information of corruption against him.

On July 2, the commission issued a notice asking Benazir and family members to submit their wealth statements to the commission within 21 working days, which the former police chief and his family grossly ignored.

The inquiry against Benazir and his family completed quite a while ago, and an inquiry report was also submitted to the commission, but the commission continued to delay its decision over filing a case, said an officer involved in the probe.

On June 4, the commission decided to launch an inquiry into the corruption allegations against former National Board of Revenue member Matiur Rahman and his family members, but that inquiry has not finished, nor has a case been filed.

As per the commission rules, an officer gets a maximum of 75 days to complete an inquiry, but the probe against Matiur and his family is yet to be completed although three months have elapsed after the launch of the inquiry and all necessary information has been gathered by now, according to commission officials.

Earlier, during its inquiry the anti-corruption agency applied to a court for imposing a travel ban on Matiur, saying that facing corruption allegations his second wife and their son left the country and Matiur himself was trying to flee.

On July 2, the same day it asked Benazir for wealth statement, the agency also issued a notice to Matiur and his family members asking them to submit wealth statements within 21 working days. Like Benazir, Matiur and his family also completely disregarded the notice and have not submitted their wealth statements till now.

As the commission has not filed a case against or arrested Matiur despite having information that he owned massive wealth beyond known sources of income, the former revenue board official continues to go scot free.

Commission secretary Khorsheda Yasmeen confirmed that the agency issued notices asking Benazir and Matiur and their family members to submit wealth statements within 21 working days.

She said that the preliminary probe found information that they had acquired assets beyond known sources of income.

The commission would take legal action against them soon as per law, she added.

An Anti-Corruption Commission inquiry team submitted its report to the authority on July 1, mentioning that they found Benazir to amass illegal wealth of around Tk 44 crore.

The inquiry report stated that Benazir amassed illegal wealth worth around Tk 9.25 crore, and his wife Jissan Mirza owned Tk 21.34 crore. Their elder daughter Farheen Rishta amassed illegal wealth worth Tk 8.10 crore, and another daughter Tahseen Raisa owned wealth worth Tk 4.76 crore.

The inquiry report said that the value shown in the deed of immovable property was taken into consideration in the report.

The inquiry also found that 25 acres of land at Bandarban Sadar was taken on lease in Benazir Ahmed’s name, two plots in the names of Benazir and his wife Jissan Mirza in Munshiganj, Jissan Mirza also owned a seven-storey building at the capital’s Uttara, and six flats in Dhaka’s Adabar area.

The value of these assets was not mentioned anywhere, and the value of these assets has not been determined in the inquiry, said the report.

Following a petition by the commission, a Dhaka court ordered the seizure of a total of 697 bigha of land in Gopalganj, Madaripur, Cox’s Bazar, Bandarban, and Narayanganj districts, 12 flats in Dhaka, and shares in 21 companies—all owned by Benazir and his family.

The court also ordered freezing of a Tk 30 lakh investment in savings certificates, 33 bank accounts, and three Beneficiary Owner’s accounts.

The anti-corruption agency, meanwhile, found massive movable and immovable wealth owned by Matiur and his family members.

Following its petitions, a Dhaka court seized 3,523 decimal land, and shares of 19 companies, and also ordered to freeze Tk 13.44 crore in 116 bank accounts and 23 beneficiary owner’s (BO) accounts.

The court also ordered the seizure of eight apartments in Dhaka, a multi-storey building in the Bashundhara residential area, owned by Matiur and his family.

Matiur was president of the revenue board’s Customs, Excise, and VAT Appellate Tribunal before his removal from the position by the finance ministry on June 23, following the goat scandal involving his son that brought his assets under public scrutiny.

The former revenue board official is now facing an anti-corruption inquiry for the fifth time in the past two decades.

In 2004, the commission launched the first inquiry against Matiur, which was followed by three more enquiries in 2008, 2013, and 2021 without any breakthrough.

Matiur was exposed to public scrutiny after video footage went viral on social media showing his second wife’s son, Mushfiqur Rahman Ifat, buying a goat for Tk 12 lakh ahead of Eid-ul-Azha in June.

He initially denied Ifat as his son which was subsequently proved a lie. Speaking to a television channel, Matiur denied any wrongdoing, saying that the anti-corruption commission gave him clean chits four times in the past.​
 

ACC moves for travel ban on ex-MPs, ministers
Solamain Salman 01 September, 2024, 17:07

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| File photo

The Anti-Corruption Commission has moved to impose international travel bans on a number of former ministers, lawmakers and bureaucrats of the ousted Awami League government, now facing massive allegations of amassing illegal wealth and money laundering.

Commission deputy director Md Jahangir Alam on Sunday submitted an application to court seeking a travel ban on 10 people, including former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, over corruption allegations against them, while in another development, the graft watchdog decided to launch inquiries against former ministers SM Rezaul Karim and Monnujan Sufian and three others.

Accepting the petition, Judge Mohammed Ash Shams Joglul Hossain of the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s Court in Dhaka issued the travel ban.

The nine others facing the travel ban are Asaduzzaman’s wife Lutful Tahmina Khan, son Shafi Midassir Khan, and daughter Safia Tasnim Khan, home ministry’s current joint secretary Dhananjoy Kumar Das and former additional secretary Md Harun-or-Rashid Biswas, the ministry’s public relations officer Sharif Mahmud Apu, administrative officer Mollah Ibrahim Hossain, home minister’s assistant personal secretary Monir Hossain, and former deputy inspector general of police Mollah Nazrul Islam.

In yet another development, Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s Court on Sunday ordered the authorities concerned to freeze 19 banks of Shah Kamal, former senior secretary to the disaster management and relief ministry, and his wife Farzana Siddiqua in connection with graft allegations.

Judge Mohammad Ash-Shams Joglul Hossain passed the order following a petition submitted by commission deputy director Md Mahbubul Alam, also the inquiry officer of the matter, said the agency’s public prosecutor Mahmud Hossain Jahangir.

Shah Kamal has Tk 5.75 crore in 12 accounts, while Tk 3.76 crore was found deposited in seven bank accounts of his wife.

Mahbubul Alam in his petition said that the couple had amassed a massive amount of money through illegal means and potential money laundering might happen if their bank accounts were not frozen immediately.

On August 17, the police arrested Shah Kamal from Dhaka’s Mohakhali area and he was sent to jail following court order.

Shah Kamal served as secretary from 2015 to 2019 and as a senior secretary from 2019 to 2020.

At least 60 people, including 27 former ministers and lawmakers, are coming under the international travel ban in three phases with 24 of them have already been issued travel bans, said anti-corruption officials.

Commission officials said that a handful of former ministers and lawmakers, bureaucrats, and their family members amassed a huge amount of illegal wealth through corruption in the past three terms of the Awami League government.

Most of the former lawmakers and ministers of the ousted Awami League government have either fled the country or gone into hiding since the fall of the regime through a student-led mass uprising on August 5.

Some of the former ministers and lawmakers left the country just before the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, while other former ministers and lawmakers facing corruption allegations are reportedly trying to flee.

Earlier in the first phase on August 29, the same court issued a travel ban on 14 former ministers and lawmakers accepting a petition submitted by the commission’s deputy director Abu Hena Ashiqur Rahman.

The first phase travel ban was issued against five former full ministers—Dipu Moni of social welfare; Zahid Maleque of health; Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury of education; Sadhan Chandra Majumder of food; Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun of industries; one deputy minister —Kamal Ahmed Majumder of industries; and eight former lawmakers—Salim Uddin; Mamunur Rashid Kiron; Kujendra Lal Tripura; Kajim Uddin; Noor-E-Alam Chowdhury Liton; Shahjahan Khan; Kamrul Islam; and Ziaur Rahman.

Also a five-member team led by anti-corruption deputy director Mostafizur Rahman investigating graft charges against 13 former ministers and lawmakers submitted an application to the commission last week for issuing a travel ban on all the 13 suspects.

The suspects are two former full ministers—Mohammad Hasan Mahmud of foreign affairs, Imran Ahmed of expatriate welfare and overseas employment; six former state ministers—Nasrul Hamid of power and energy; Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury of shipping; Zunaid Ahmed Palak of ICT; Zakir Hossain of primary and mass education; Meher Afroz Chumki of women and child affairs; Swapan Bhattacharya of local government, rural development and cooperatives; and five former lawmakers—Sarwar Jahan (Kushtia-1); Sheikh Afil Uddin (Jessore-1); Enamul Haque (Rajshahi-4); Abu Sayeed Al Mahmud Swapan (Jaipurhat-2); and Sheikh Helal (Bagerhat-1).

Still another inquiry team led by commission deputy director Jahangir Alam applied to the anti-corruption authority seeking travel ban yet another set of 13 other former ministers and lawmakers.

These 13 individuals are—seven full former ministers—Tipu Munshi of commerce; Anisul Huq of law; Tajul Islam of local government; Faridul Haque Khan of religious affairs; Hasanul Haque Inu of information; Golam Dastgir Gazi of textiles and jute; and former minister and Jatiya Party leader Anwar Hossain Manju; two former state ministers—Enamur Rahman of relief and disaster; and Zahid Ahsan Russell of youth and sports; and four former lawmakers—Benazir Ahmed (Dhaka-20); Kazi Nabil Ahmed (Jessore-3); Mohibbur Rahman (Patuakhali-4); and Shahidul Islam Bakul (Natore-1).

The anti-corruption commission on Sunday further decided to launch enquiries against five people, including former minister SM Rezaul Karim and state minister Begum Monnujan Sufian, over amassing illegal wealth through corruption.

The commission took the decision from its Segun Bagicha headquarters in Dhaka, said its secretary Khorsheda Yasmeen while talking to journalists at her office on the day.

The three other people to face its investigation are former state minister Monnujan’s assistant personal secretary and also her younger brother Md Sahabuddin, Sahabuddin’s daughter Shamima Sultana, and Monnujan’s sister’s son Yashin Arafat.

According to the allegations, Rezaul Karim, a former lawmaker of Pirojpur-1 constituency, amassed illegal wealth at home and aboard by means of irregularities, corruption and unethical activities through abuse of power.

He allegedly became owner of immovable assets at various places in Nazirpur of Barishal, Pirojpur and Dhaka, while he embezzled Tk 25 crore in the name of purchasing equipment and holding training under the ‘Livestock and Dairy Development’ project during his tenure as fisheries and livestock minister.

According to allegations, former state minister for labour and employment Begum Monnujan Sufian, her assistant personal secretary and younger brother Md Sahabuddin, his daughter Shamima Sultana, and her nephew Yashin Arafat amassed illegal wealth through corruptive practices and abuse of power.

Monnujan faces allegations of amassing illegal wealth, including a five-katha plot from Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha in Dhaka’s Sector-10, a three-storey house in Khulna, two cars, and 16.07 katha land at Moyuri Housing implemented by the Khulna Development Authority.

Md Sahabuddin, Shamima Sultana, and Yashin Arafat amassed wealth through illegally negotiating job appointments, postings and promotions during Monnujan’s tenure as state minister.

When asked, commission secretary Khorsheda Yasmeen said, ‘We are imposing travel ban on graft suspects as per law through court’s approval so they cannot flee the country.’​
 

NBR scraps provision to whiten black money

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Illustration: Collected

The National Board of Revenue has cancelled the provision which allowed taxpayers to whiten black money without scrutiny by paying a 15 percent tax.

The tax authority issued a notification in this regard today.

The development comes a few days after Syeda Rizwana Hasan, the environment adviser, told journalists that the interim government would scrap the provision.

The exemption allowed taxpayers to legalise undeclared income without facing any questions about the source of wealth. However, the taxpayer would have to pay a 15 percent tax on their assets, including cash, for the current fiscal year.

The decision drew sharp criticism from economists, trade bodies and civil society.​
 

Disclosure of assets by state officials a much-needed step
Authorities must check corruption by government employees

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VISUAL: STAR

We commend the interim government for its instruction to all government employees to submit their wealth statements. A senior secretary at the Ministry of Public Administration has also warned that those who will not do so will face punishment. Currently, public employees are required to declare their movable and immovable assets at the time of joining the service, and later to submit wealth statements every five years. However, in reality, they hardly comply with these rules. The lack of accountability has given rise to corruption in many forms. So, making asset disclosures mandatory is a welcome step indeed.

It may be recalled that when the Government Servant (Conduct) Rules-1979 was formulated, government officials were required to submit wealth statements every year. But in 2002, the rules were amended to extend the period of disclosure to five years. On what justifications were the rules changed still remains a question. But then, as if to give public officials a further scope to get involved in corruption, the public administration ministry earlier this year pushed for a change that would have done away with the obligation to submit wealth statements, instead proposing that employees' asset records be collected from their annual tax returns filed with the National Board of Revenue. Clearly, these amendments and proposals were made to grant concessions to public employees.

Over the past few decades, we have seen how corruption has spread in every sector in the country, from banking to health to energy to transport to construction. Corruption in the public sector is primarily enabled by public officials, and it starts with their very recruitment process. We have recently come across many reports on how question paper leaks have become a regular phenomenon in the BCS exams. Although the Awami League government routinely insisted on "zero tolerance" against corruption, in reality, it did little to uproot it. We witnessed how money laundering and bad loans almost crippled our economy. We saw how investigations into corruption cases were obstructed by the government machinery. The Anti-Corruption Commission, meant to check corruption in public service, could hardly play its mandated role.

These trends must be changed. The time has come to reverse this scenario and build an administration based on accountability and transparency. The mandatory disclosure of assets by government officials can be the first step towards achieving that goal. All advisers of the interim government should also publish their asset details to express their solidarity with this move. People have high expectations from the interim government, and they must not fail them.​
 

Real estate still a haven for black money

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The scope for legalising undisclosed income without facing any questions remains as the tax administration has not scrapped the provision of whitening black money in case of the purchase of flats and land, raising criticism.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) on Sunday scrapped the provision of legalising undeclared income on payment of 15 percent tax on assets, including cash, securities, deposits, financial schemes and instruments.

The development came about amidst demands from various sections of the society to withdraw the amnesty offered by the Awami League government that was ousted in a mass uprising last month.

But the revenue administration did not cancel the amnesty to whiten black money in case of investment in real estate -- flats, buildings and land -- on payment of a specific amount of tax depending on the size and location of the properties.

Accordingly, it fixed Tk 15,000 per square metre as the maximum amount of tax for investment in land in Dhaka's Gulshan, Banani, Motijheel, Tejgaon, Dhanmondi and Shahbagh.

The specific tax for the purchase of flats and establishments is Tk 6,000 for each square metre.

The NBR officials said the tax administration cancelled the provision of legalising undisclosed cash, securities, and deposits on payment of 15 percent tax in line with the directive from high-ups of the interim government.

Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), said it was a welcome relief and seemed consistent with the key spirit of anti-discrimination in the vision of the "new Bangladesh".

"However, it will be extremely disappointing if at the operational level any loopholes are left, apparently deliberately, to keep the same provision for investment in any sector or sub-sector such as real estate," he said.

He said this would mean that discrimination would continue, as black money holders would be rewarded instead of being held to account.

It will also imply that by giving discriminatory advantages to illicit income earners, their monopolistic control of these sectors will be further entrenched and such sectors will become more prohibitive for honest earners, he said.

"In reality, it will be a corruption-encouraging decision, which the interim government cannot afford to allow," said the TIB executive director.

He also called for reviewing the matter in the true spirit of the anti-discrimination movement in general and corruption control in particular.

Snehasish Barua, managing director of SMAC Advisory Services Ltd, said, "If the intention was to cancel the scope of legalising undisclosed assets, then it should have been completely withdrawn rather than being offered a partial withdrawal."

"There is still scope for such voluntary disclosure for land and apartments under this scheme, meaning we are welcoming undisclosed assets in real estate with absolute amnesty provision," he added.

Barua said it might have been more appropriate to fully withdraw this scheme, considering the fact that the Income Tax Act 2023 already provides for the legalisation of investments in buildings and apartments, unless it is acquired through an illegal source of income through criminal activity.

The NBR gave the opportunity to taxpayers to legalise undisclosed assets without facing any questions about the sources of income for the two consecutive years from fiscal year 2020-21.

It also kept a provision that taxmen will consider the source of funds as explained if taxpayers pay a specific amount of tax in case of investment in flats depending on the size and location of the property.

The provision has been kept in effect for the current fiscal year.

Contacted, NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan said, "I can only comment after analysing the issue. If anybody earns money unlawfully and no agency cannot ask, such provision is not supposed to be in there."

He said the scope to invest undisclosed money for the purchase of flats and land is not new. It has been continuing over the years. "The tax rate is high," he said.

Professor Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said there is an official rate of properties including land depending on mouza.

But in reality, properties are transferred at higher than the officially fixed rates. This discrepancy creates a huge amount of undisclosed money, he said.

The government should find a way out so that the buyers and sellers can show the transfer value of properties, he said.

Since Bangladesh gained independence, schemes to legalise undeclared money have been introduced at least 22 times. But the response has been lukewarm.

According to data from the NBR, nearly Tk 45,522 crore was whitened between 1972 and 2022, with the revenue collector getting Tk 4,641 crore in taxes in total.

In FY21, a record Tk 20,600 crore was whitened, yielding the NBR Tk 2,064 crore.

In FY'07, the caretaker government offered the scope to legalise black money following the payment of a penalty, which is not normally levied. That year, Tk 9,682 crore was whitened.​
 

ACC decides to investigate ex-army chief
Staff Correspondent 04 September, 2024, 18:22

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Aziz Ahmed | File photo

The Anti-Corruption Commission on Wednesday decided to initiate an inquiry against former army chief retired General Aziz Ahmed over allegations of amassing a huge amount of illegal wealth at home and abroad.

The commission also decided to start an inquiry against former Feni-2 constituency lawmaker Nizam Uddin Hazari over allegations of amassing illegal assets through corruption and abusing power.

Besides, former chief whip of Jatiya Sangsad Noor-e-Alam Chowdhury and four other former lawmakers, scheduled to appear on Wednesday, did not appear at the ACC for facing interrogation over allegations of amassing illegal assets.

ACC secretary Khorsheda Yasmeen told journalists that the commission took decisions on inquiries against former army chief Aziz and former lawmaker Nizam Hazari based on graft allegations.

She also said that there were allegations that Aziz purchased plots and flats in different places, including in Dhaka, through abusing power, corruption, and misconduct.

According to the allegations, Aziz has built a luxurious bungalow house, spending Tk 100 crore, while he has houses in DOHS at Mirpur and Nikunja in Dhaka.

He also purchased houses and several hundred bighas of land in the names of his younger brothers, including Tofayel Ahmed in Dhaka.

The former army chief laundered money through hundi and banking channels for conducting business and purchasing property in Malaysia, Singapore, and Dubai.

Recent reports suggested that Aziz’s brother Haris Ahmed used the alias Mohammad Hasan to obtain a national identity card, falsely mentioning Suleman Sarkar and Rahela Begum as his parents.

Additionally, he changed his photo on his NID card in 2019, with the recommendation for the change coming from his brother Aziz when he was the army chief.

Aziz’s brother Tofael Ahmed, alias Joseph, possessed two NID cards—one under his actual name with parents listed as Abdul Wadud and Renuja Begum, and another under the name Tanvir Ahmed Tanjeel, with different parent names.

Aziz’s corruption issue came to the fore after the United States imposed sanctions on Aziz Ahmed and his immediate family members on May 21, citing his alleged involvement in serious corruption.

Aziz served as the chief of army staff from June 2018 to June 2021 and also led the Border Guard Bangladesh from 2012 to 2016.

Aziz, the eldest among five brothers, had siblings who made headlines for criminal activities such as murder, extortion, and illegal possession of firearms during the 1990s and 2000s.

Joseph, in particular, was implicated in 10 cases related to extortion and illegal firearms possession.

In 2004, Joseph was sentenced to death while Haris and another brother, Anis, were sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case.

The spotlight intensified on Aziz Ahmed when Joseph was granted clemency in the murder case in 2018, followed by similar actions for Haris and Anis in 2019.

An Al-Jazeera documentary ‘All the prime minister’s men,’ aired on February 1, 2021, alleged that Aziz misused his influence to secure contracts for his convicted brothers.

Meanwhile, former chief whip Noor-e-Alam Chowdhury, former minister Qamrul Islam, and three other former lawmakers did not appear at the commission on Wednesday.

Qamrul Islam submitted a petition through his lawyer seeking time, but the rest of the four did not respond to the notices.

Earlier, the ACC summoned them, asking them to appear in person at the commission.

The other three are former state minister for Chittagong Hill Tracts Kujendra Lal Tripura and two former AL lawmakers, Ziaur Rahman and Qashim Uddin Ahmed.​
 

White-collar crimes: Bangladesh perspective

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Readers may agree with my supposition that the current financial misfortune of Bangladesh is largely caused by white-collar crimes. Edwin Sutherland, a US sociologist who coined this terminology, defined white-collar crime as "a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation".

In Bangladesh, we fail to isolate white-collar crimes from ordinary deceptions, because it is not clearly defined in our legal system. A fair guideline can be obtained from the US Department of Justice definition, which articulates: "White-collar offences shall constitute those classes of non-violent illegal activities which principally involve traditional notions of deceit, deception, concealment, manipulation, breach of trust, subterfuge or illegal circumvention".

When this crime has caused so much misery in our society, it is pertinent to ask: a) why do socially established people in Bangladesh commit white-collar crimes and b) whether these crimes can be prevented in the coming days.

Regarding the first question, it is commonly understood that white-collar crimes thrive in a modern complex economic system where there is money, trust, greed and opportunity. Bangladeshi politicians created opportunities for a few in the name of progress and development. Contractual trust, which is a basis for all monetary transactions, was widely flouted. Thereby, paving the way for deception and financial scams to surpass all bounds.

The second issue is the prevention of white-collar crime. We need a robust legal framework and institution comparable to the Serious Fraud Office of the UK. Simultaneously, we need to inculcate basic moral precepts. Consider how honesty is being routinely touted in religious sermons, political meetings and civil society in Bangladesh. Yet we do not find their reflection in private morality and public policies. This gives rise to the question of whether our families and society inculcate the moral foundation in the right earnest.

Truly speaking, white-collar crimes cannot be eliminated but can be prevented. With the happening of each financial crime, Western societies make appropriate legal reforms to prevent reoccurrence. Conversely, in our part of the world, white-collar crimes thrive through political patronage and social indifference.

Trivial phrases like "all men are created equal" or George Washington's inaugural speech where he said "there is an enduring union between virtue and happiness" are some of the precepts of American moral beliefs and behaviour.

Secular Western societies derive their public policy from private morality. The stigma of being labelled as a fraudster is a disgrace in the Western world. There is a common saying in the Western world that one could get away with murder, but not with a white-collar crime. In support of this notion, let me cite examples:

During the 1990s, Robert Maxwell, the UK-based media mogul embezzled employees' pension fund. Upon detection, he faced public outrage. Then he died a mysterious death, widely believed to be a suicide out of shame. Likewise, Bernie Madoff, the stockbroker and once Chairman of NASDAQ, who fleeced many people and devastated many lives, when brought to justice, received a 150-year prison sentence and later died in remorse and shame.

Please do not get me wrong. I am citing the Western precepts and examples in order to bring home the truism that any society in the pursuit of ethically run institutions must build a moral premise first. For example, if we need justice in a community, we have to put in place a just society. Only then societies can produce benevolent people.

History demonstrates that public sentiments towards any common cause can create invincible people's power. Perhaps the July 2024 Bangladesh Revolution brings home some hope of transforming the society.

The author is a former banker​
 

ACC probes graft allegations against Shibli, eight others

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) last week began a formal inquiry into the alleged corruption of former chief of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) Professor Shibli Rubayat-Ul Islam and eight of its other officials.

They allegedly accumulated wealth of around Tk 1,000 crore by abusing their power.

The eight officials are former BSEC commissioner Shaikh Shamsuddin Ahmed, current executive directors Md Mahbubul Alam, Md Saifur Rahman and Mohammad Rezaul Karim, directors Sheikh Mahbub Ur Rahman and Mohammad Mahmoodul Hoque, Additional Director SK Md Lutful Kabir and Joint Director Md Rashidul Alam.

By forgery and cheating, Shibli Rubayat-Ul Islam and the officials allegedly accumulated Tk 1,000 crore in assets at home and abroad, including the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada.

The assets were registered in their names and the names of others, according to ACC sources.

The anti-graft watchdog has tasked its anti-money laundering wing to carry out the investigation, according to the investigation order.

The Daily Star attempted to contact Shibli for comment, but his phone was switched off. Besides, former BSEC commissioner Shaikh Shamsuddin Ahmed did not receive phone calls for a comment.

According to a report by global investigative reporting platform Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, Shibli allegedly received payments from a bank account linked to a multi-million-dollar fraud.

At the heart of the accusations was a convicted scammer, Javeed Matin, whom Islam had met at university and had been friends with for two decades, the report said.

It added that throughout much of 2020, Matin helped launder the proceeds of a scheme that defrauded a Hong Kong-based supply chain and sourcing company, Ming Global Limited, out of more than $13 million.

Under the pretence of an investment, these funds were sent to two accounts held by a US company, Monarch Holdings Inc, which then wired over $800,000 to Shibli's personal account and to the accounts of a Bangladeshi company he appeared to be behind.​
 

ACC to take FBI help to bring back money laundered from Bangladesh
Staff Correspondent 09 September, 2024, 23:44

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The Anti-Corruption Commission has begun its work to bring back the money laundered abroad during the now overthrown Awami League’s rule between 2009 and 2024.

The national anti-graft agency is taking assistance from local and international agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States, in this regard.

A delegation from the federal investigation bureau in a meeting on Monday assured the anti-corruption commission to cooperate in any legal proceedings, including the recovery of the laundered money.

Allegations remain that people from various professions, including politicians, businesspeople, bureaucrats, and police officials, laundered nearly Tk 1 lakh crore from the country.

The money launderers made their fortunes abroad and purchased properties, established business entities, and invested in second homes in different countries, including the USA, United Kingdom, Canada, Malaysia, Dubai and Singapore.

The commission took the fresh move to bring back the laundered money as the professor Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, formed on August 8, announced that the laundered money would be recovered.

A two-member FBI team held the meeting with senior officials of the commission’s money laundering wing at the latter’s headquarters in Dhaka.

The meeting came up with a cooperation proposal between the two agencies in any legal proceedings, including the recovery of laundered money.

FBI delegation comprising assistant legal attache Robert J Cameron and its police liaison specialist Mohammad Aminul Islam, and ACC director general for money laundering wing Md Mokammel Haque, and intelligence unit’s director Abdullah Al Zahid were present at the meeting.

When asked about this, ACC secretary Khorsheda Yasmeen confirmed journalists that an FBI delegation came to the commission and held a meeting with the officials of the money laundering wing.

At the meeting, they inquired about the overall process of inquiry and investigation of the commission. The delegation assured them of assistance if required by the ACC, she said.

The ACC might seek assistance from the FBI to bring back laundered money from abroad, she added.

A senior ACC official who was present at the meeting said that the meeting was a long one lasting for about one and a half hours.

The visiting team inquired in details about the three processes, namely, investigation, investigation and trial followed by the commission in its work. The meeting also discussed about how the legally cooperation might work, starting with the repatriation of the laundered money from abroad, he said.

‘Overall they got an idea about the ACC activities. Now they will look at how to cooperate with the ACC udder their legislation. To that end, they can submit a proposal. Later, we will discuss that proposal and what we should do,’ he added.

At the meeting, the commission officials also informed the delegation about money laundering related activities, laws, and its capabilities.

Earlier on Sunday, finance adviser Saleh Uddin Ahmed announced the formation of a task force to recover laundered money from abroad.

After a meeting of the Ministry of Commerce at the Secretariat, he told journalists, ‘What will be the working method of the task force, who will be there, the process, are being worked on. This task force will be visible within a few days.’

Earlier, the interim government announced that it started working to ‘acquire local assets’ of embezzlers and bring back laundered money from abroad.

As part of the step, communication with various foreign organisations has also started, according to a press release sent by the chief adviser’s office on August 28.

‘Contacts have already been initiated seeking help from various foreign agencies regarding repatriation of money,’ the release said.

‘Certain dishonest businesspeople and other influential persons in recent years embezzled huge sums of money through massive corruption and fraud in the banking sector and laundered it abroad,’ said the release.

‘Audit work will begin to determine the money swindled by the corrupt people…(but) it can be assumed that the amount could be over Tk1 lakh crore,’ the release said.

The commission was able to recover approximately S$20.41 lakh (Singapore dollars) in 2012, laundered allegedly by Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia’s younger son, Arafat Rahman Koko.

But the commission, later, failed to bring back any laundered money from abroad in the past 12 years.

According to Washington-based Global Financial Integrity, on an average $753.37 crore is laundered every year from Bangladesh through international trade.

A GFI 2021 report estimated that $8.27 billion was laundered annually on average between 2009 and 2018.

According to the National Strategy for Prevention of Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism, most of the Bangladeshi money has been laundered in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Cayman Islands, and British Virgin Islands.​
 

Govt must expedite recovery of money siphoned off
12 September, 2024, 00:00

THE main challenge for the interim government in rebuilding the economy is to bring back the money laundered during the authoritarian Awami League regime toppled on August 5. The economic crisis, especially the dollar shortage, has largely been due to an unabated capital flight. A statement of the chief adviser’s office on August 31 said preliminary estimates suggest that the total amount of money embezzled could exceed Tk 1 lakh crore. In April, the World Bank reported that around $3.15 billion outflows from Bangladesh occured annually through illegal offshore accounts. A 2021 Global Financial Integrity report says that $61.6 billion was smuggled out of Bangladesh in 2005–2014, and Bangladesh lost $8.27 billion annually because of trade mis-invoicing. The Financial Intelligence Unit in the 2023 annual report also says that money is siphoned off mostly through trade and over-invoicing and it finds 20–200 per cent over-invoicing in some cases. The Financial Intelligence Unit prepared lists of money launderers, reported a significantly high number of suspicious transactions involving capital flight but did very little to hold the perpetrators to account or to recover the money in the past decade. In this context, it is assuring that the interim government considers the recovery of the money laundered and international agencies have expressed interest in helping the government in this regard.

The government has already taken a number of steps to prevent capital flight and recover the laundered money. The National Coordination Committee on Anti-Money Laundering on August 14 said the finance adviser directed authorities to speed up anti-money laundering activities without fear or favour. As part of the efforts, some of the bank accounts of suspected money launderers have been frozen. The head of the committee meant to prepare a white paper on the state of the economy has, however, termed the process of recovering laundered money or identifying assets purchased with laundered money a complex process. It involves massive diplomatic engagement to investigate suspicious cross-border financial transactions and negotiate with host and destination countries. Once the siphoned off money is located, legal action can be taken in the host country and only after securing a decree from the host country can the money or property purchased with laundered money be frozen and sold to repatriate the fund. The decision to work with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation is, therefore, promising. It is also heartening to see that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has offered support for the Anti-Corruption Commission in this regard. Transparency International Bangladesh and other anti-graft bodies urged the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the European Union, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates to hold the money smugglers accountable and help Bangladesh’s interim government to repatriate the smuggled money.

It is assuring that the interim government has made laundered money recovery a priority, but to expedite the process, it must improve its expertise considering the complex transnational legal process that involves repatriation of funds.​
 

A billionaire in S’pore, minnow in Bangladesh
Tax sleuths find Aziz's local asset only 2.52pc of second-home wealth
Doulot Akter Mala
Published :
Sep 16, 2024 00:26
Updated :
Sep 16, 2024 00:26

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A multibillionaire tycoon in Singapore is found a minnow in Bangladesh as tax sleuths find his local asset coming to only 2.52 per cent of his second-home wealth.

Taxmen's initial finding reveals that Aziz Khan, rated as the 43rd billionaire Singapore, has Tk 3.30 billion worth of assets in Bangladesh, which accounts only for 2.52 per cent, or a tiny part, of what he has amassed in Singapore.

The richest person in Bangladesh and on the Forbes billionaires list has not shown any car or land in his own name in the tax files.

Mr Khan, chairman of Summit Group, has net assets worth US$1.1 billion in Singapore in 2024. He has investment in energy sector.

Already the Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) collected tax files of Khan and some of his family members, now that an anti-corruption crackdown is on stream following the fall of the Awami League government in a student-mass upsurge.

However, volumes of his annual income and his paid taxes in Bangladesh could not be known by the FE correspondent yet.

In his personal income-tax file, Mr Khan showed a total asset of Tk 3.30 billion in the last tax year. Of the amount, investment in banks, Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) and share market amount to Tk 2.95 billion, official sources said by citing his tax returns.

Tax officials have found a total of 150 tax files altogether filed by Mr Khan, seven family members and his associate companies. They, however, say the investigation is going on to look into his assets and income in Bangladesh and the provisional data may vary at final stages.

Seven members of Khan's family have assets worth Tk 12 billion as shown in their tax files. The Khan family members include his two daughters, his wife, brothers and nephew.

His two daughters--Aysha and Aziza--hold the highest riches. Aysha Aziz Khan's income-tax returns show Tk 2.82 billion while Azeeza Aziz Khan has Tk 2.75 billion.

Also, Ayesha Aziz has under her name non-agriculture land worth Tk 35 million.

Anjuman Aziz, wife of Aziz Khan, has assets worth Tk 940 million in her tax returns. Of the assets, she has investment worth Tk 500 million in the country's capital market while Tk 440 million in banks.

Latif Khan, brother of Aziz Khan, holds assets worth Tk 870 million. Of the amount, value of company shares showed Tk 760 million. He owns a car worth Tk 35 million.

Another brother of the blessed businessman, Farid Khan, owns around Tk 1.0 billion worth of asset. He has investment in share market worth Tk 1.40 billion while loan Tk 750 million.

Faisal Khan, nephew of Aziz Khan, holds Tk 530 million worth of assets. Of the assets, investment in share market is Tk 410 million.

On August 22 last, the CIC issued letters to banks and other financial institutions to furnish bank-account details of five tycoons, including Mr Khan.

Tax officials have said they would only scrutinize the individual tax liability of those tycoons assessing their paid and payable taxes.

American business magazine Forbes data showed Aziz Khan's real-time net wealth worth $1.0 billion in 2023 that increased to $1.1 billion in 2024.

Having residency in Singapore, he has investment in construction and energy sector.

A senior tax official says Aziz Khan filed tax returns as non-resident taxpayer as he is citizen of Singapore.

Any taxpayer who resides more than 180 days in Bangladesh has to file tax return as resident.

However, individuals having income and Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) in Bangladesh need to file tax return as non-resident if they stay less than the aforesaid time period.

For the first time, any government entity moved to look into tax files and assets of Aziz Khan, who was first named on the Forbes Singapore list in 2018 with net wealth $910 million. His net wealth was $955 million in 2020 followed by $990 million in 2021.

Aziz ranked 2545th out of 2,781 billionaires across the world on the Forbes World's Billionaires List 2024.​
 

A billionaire in S’pore, minnow in Bangladesh
Tax sleuths find Aziz's local asset only 2.52pc of second-home wealth
Doulot Akter Mala
Published :
Sep 16, 2024 00:26
Updated :
Sep 16, 2024 00:26

View attachment 8487

A multibillionaire tycoon in Singapore is found a minnow in Bangladesh as tax sleuths find his local asset coming to only 2.52 per cent of his second-home wealth.

Taxmen's initial finding reveals that Aziz Khan, rated as the 43rd billionaire Singapore, has Tk 3.30 billion worth of assets in Bangladesh, which accounts only for 2.52 per cent, or a tiny part, of what he has amassed in Singapore.

The richest person in Bangladesh and on the Forbes billionaires list has not shown any car or land in his own name in the tax files.

Mr Khan, chairman of Summit Group, has net assets worth US$1.1 billion in Singapore in 2024. He has investment in energy sector.

Already the Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) collected tax files of Khan and some of his family members, now that an anti-corruption crackdown is on stream following the fall of the Awami League government in a student-mass upsurge.

However, volumes of his annual income and his paid taxes in Bangladesh could not be known by the FE correspondent yet.

In his personal income-tax file, Mr Khan showed a total asset of Tk 3.30 billion in the last tax year. Of the amount, investment in banks, Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) and share market amount to Tk 2.95 billion, official sources said by citing his tax returns.

Tax officials have found a total of 150 tax files altogether filed by Mr Khan, seven family members and his associate companies. They, however, say the investigation is going on to look into his assets and income in Bangladesh and the provisional data may vary at final stages.

Seven members of Khan's family have assets worth Tk 12 billion as shown in their tax files. The Khan family members include his two daughters, his wife, brothers and nephew.

His two daughters--Aysha and Aziza--hold the highest riches. Aysha Aziz Khan's income-tax returns show Tk 2.82 billion while Azeeza Aziz Khan has Tk 2.75 billion.

Also, Ayesha Aziz has under her name non-agriculture land worth Tk 35 million.

Anjuman Aziz, wife of Aziz Khan, has assets worth Tk 940 million in her tax returns. Of the assets, she has investment worth Tk 500 million in the country's capital market while Tk 440 million in banks.

Latif Khan, brother of Aziz Khan, holds assets worth Tk 870 million. Of the amount, value of company shares showed Tk 760 million. He owns a car worth Tk 35 million.

Another brother of the blessed businessman, Farid Khan, owns around Tk 1.0 billion worth of asset. He has investment in share market worth Tk 1.40 billion while loan Tk 750 million.

Faisal Khan, nephew of Aziz Khan, holds Tk 530 million worth of assets. Of the assets, investment in share market is Tk 410 million.

On August 22 last, the CIC issued letters to banks and other financial institutions to furnish bank-account details of five tycoons, including Mr Khan.

Tax officials have said they would only scrutinize the individual tax liability of those tycoons assessing their paid and payable taxes.

American business magazine Forbes data showed Aziz Khan's real-time net wealth worth $1.0 billion in 2023 that increased to $1.1 billion in 2024.

Having residency in Singapore, he has investment in construction and energy sector.

A senior tax official says Aziz Khan filed tax returns as non-resident taxpayer as he is citizen of Singapore.

Any taxpayer who resides more than 180 days in Bangladesh has to file tax return as resident.

However, individuals having income and Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) in Bangladesh need to file tax return as non-resident if they stay less than the aforesaid time period.

For the first time, any government entity moved to look into tax files and assets of Aziz Khan, who was first named on the Forbes Singapore list in 2018 with net wealth $910 million. His net wealth was $955 million in 2020 followed by $990 million in 2021.

Aziz ranked 2545th out of 2,781 billionaires across the world on the Forbes World's Billionaires List 2024.​

The Bangladeshi ACC people conducting these probes need some serious money-laundering help and expertise as far as tracing the global route of the money siphoned off.

They really need to retain a globally reputed Law Firm specializing in this sort of operation and overseas govt. financial crime units from a friendly country such as either China, Japan or South Korea.

Together with that - they need to approach UN, World Bank. IMF and ADB financial crime experts.

Seeking UK experts will need to be private company based only, since Putul (Hasina's niece) is a sitting UK MP now. Maybe one of Putul's political rivals in the UK need to be approached for active advice.
 

360 luxury properties, Rolls Royce and $8,000 suits: AJ investigation reveals ex-land minister Saifuzzaman’s property empire​

According to the report, the former minister built a half-billion-dollar property empire on a modest official salary​

360 luxury properties, Rolls Royce and $8,000 suits: AJ investigation reveals ex-land minister Saifuzzaman’s property empire


Former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed has amassed a staggering amount of wealth abroad ranging from hundreds of luxury properties spread across multiple continents, luxury cars, crocodile shoes to Italian suits.

The former minister's property empire was revealed in a recent investigation by Doha-based Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit recently.

The 25.11-minute report titled "The Minister's Millions" has been published today (18 September) on Al Jazeera English's YouTube channel.

In the video, Saifuzzaman is heard telling AJ journos, who met him posing as property investors, that he "has a very nice penthouse" and that "he loves suits".

"It's a very private house. I need a very secure house for my security"



Saifuzzaman Chowdhury to AJ journos during a tour of his house

"A Super 200 Suit costs €6,000 [$8,000]," he is heard saying at one point in the video report.

The minister is also seen giving a tour to the journos of his penthouse in the UK.

"It's a very private house. I need a very secure house for my security," he told the AJ journos during the tour.

The five-floor house has a home theatre, a gym, a 'private lift', and a 'new Rolls Royce' parked in the garage.

According to the report, the former minister built a half-billion-dollar property empire on a modest official salary.

"Strict currency laws restrict citizens from taking more than $12,000 a year out of Bangladesh, and tough government rules ban ministers from holding directorships or profiting from private businesses," a press statement issued by Al Jazeera Media Network on the report reads.

"My father was very close to the prime minister [Sheikh Hasina], actually, and I am also... She is my boss... She knows I have a business here [in Britain]"

Saifuzzaman Chowdhury to undercover AJ journos

The statement reads, that Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, who is also a close ally of the now deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, bought over 360 luxury properties in Britain alone worth $250m.

"His appetite for real estate spread to Dubai, New York, Singapore and Malaysia," states the press statement.

The politician boasted of his powerful connections, it added.

"My father was very close to the prime minister [Sheikh Hasina], actually, and I am also... She is my boss... She knows I have a business here [in Britain]," Saifuzzaman is quoted by the AJ.

The AJ report highlights that his property buying gained pace in 2017 when he set up UK companies but accelerated in 2019 when he became a government minister.

Sheikh Hasina is currently in exile in India following her government's brutal crackdown on student protests in July, and many of her ministers, including Chowdhury, have fled the country.

"Bangladesh authorities are now investigating claims that he laundered millions of dollars in the UK; they have frozen his bank accounts and taken control of his family-owned bank, UCBL, to protect depositors' money," reads the AJ Media Network statement

The AJ reporters met with the minister posing as property investors last year in his $14m London home where he bragged about spending thousands of dollars on hand-made crocodile shoes and tailored Italian suits from top London stores.

Chowdhury told Al Jazeera that his properties were purchased with funds earned by his legitimate businesses in the UK, the UAE and America, and that he is the victim of a political witch-hunt.

This is not the first time Saifuzzaman's huge wealth has come to the fore.

Bangladesh's interim government has already approached the United Kingdom to help probe the overseas wealth of allies of Hasina, with particular focus on identifying the source of funds used to pay for a UK property portfolio worth £150mn owned by Saifuzzaman.

The government is also investigating whether Hasina's regime diverted around $17 billion overseas from the country's banking system, Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur was quoted by Financial Times in a recent report.

Transparency International UK earlier this year cited the British real estate portfolio owned by companies linked to former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury as an example of "unexplained wealth".

The Financial Times reviewed the HM Land Registry and UK Companies House records and found that entities controlled by Chowdhury acquired at least 280 properties for more than £150mn.

It found that the bulk of the properties were acquired between 2019 and 2022, with Chowdhury's tenure as land minister starting from 2019.

The properties include the freehold to the listed Emerson Bainbridge House in Fitzrovia, central London, 61 properties in Tower Hamlets, east London, and the site of a Co-op supermarket in Bristol.

The financing of the UK property purchases are unclear, although the companies have registered charges at Companies House, indicating the use of mortgage debt, the Financial Times reported today.

Chowdhury's lawyer Ajmalul Hossain KC told the Financial Times that his client had "nothing to hide" and denied he had stolen anything.

In a press conference earlier this year, Chowdhury also said his overseas assets came from international business interests.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg News reported that Saifuzzaman Chowdhury has built up a UK real estate empire of more than 350 properties worth over Tk2,000 crore. The Bloomberg reports also suggest the former minister's involvement in investments in Manhattan, US, further adding to the scrutiny surrounding his financial portfolio.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) last month launched an investigation against Saifuzzaman over the alleged acquisition of illegal assets worth crores of taka through irregularities and corruption.

The ACC also sought information on stock market investments by the former land minister and his family members as part of its ongoing investigation.
 

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