[🇧🇩] Everything about Hasina's misrule/Laundered Money etc.

[Saif]

S Alam, family withdrew Tk 500m even after fall of Awami League govt

S Alam Group’s chief Saiful Alam and his family members withdrew money from Union Bank even after the fall of Awami League government.

en.prothomalo.com

S Alam, family withdrew Tk 500m even after fall of Awami League govt
Shanaullah Sakib
Dhaka
Published: 29 Oct 2024, 13: 24

S Alam Group’s head Saiful Alam and his family members withdrew money from Union Bank even after the fall of Awami League government. Besides, they transferred money from their bank accounts to the accounts of other persons and other banks. Thus they withdrew around Tk 500 million from the Union Bank after Awami League government's fall.

This was revealed in an inspection report of Bangladesh Bank. S Alam Group was in control of Union Bank when this withdrawal of money took place. Bangladesh Bank on 27 August dissolved the board of directors of the bank to appoint independent directors. It also imposed a ban on withdrawal of money by the S Alam family.

According to the BB report Union Bank extended Tk 172.3 billion (17,229 crore) in loans to 247 entities affiliated with S Alam Group. This amount makes up 62 per cent of the bank's total lending. The 247 entities provided the loans did not repay the money to the bank. Meanwhile, 76 per cent of total manpower of the bank is from Chattogram, S Alam’s hometown, who were recruited in the bank without any entry test. As a result, despite dissolution of the board, the Union Bank continues to be operated by the people connected with S Alam Group.

Union Bank was controlled by S Alam Group since its inception in 2013. The chairman of the group Saiful Alam was very close to the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina. After the fall of the Awami League government in the student uprising, Bangladesh Bank freed nine banks from the control of S Alam Group.

Meanwhile, Union Bank's managing director (MD) ABM Mokammel Haque Chowdhury has gone into hiding with allegations of various financial crimes. Before that, he withdrew all his money from the bank. Some other officials of this bank are also in hiding.

How much money the Alam's withdrew
According to the report, on 11 August, Saiful Alam transferred money from Union Bank's Muradpur and Bandartila branches to his Khatunganj account under the name of S Alam & Co. The same day, Tk 42 million was transferred to Russell Enterprises at the Chittagong DT Road branch and Tk 40 million to a company called Crobe Trading in the Bahaddarhat branch client.

On 8 and 14 August, Tk 80 million was transferred from the account of Rashedul Alam, S Alam’s brother, at the Kadamtali branch and re-deposited the money under the names Azizunnesa and Rashedul Karim Choudhury. On 28 August, S Alam’s brother-in-law Arshad Mahmud withdrew Tk 42.2 million of term deposit before maturity and transferred the money to other banks through pay-order.

According to the BB report Ansarul Alam linked to S Alam Group withdrew Tk 150 million from OR Nizam Road branch on 20 August and transferred under the names of Rokeya Begum and Hasna Hena. On 18 August, a person named Golam Sarowar Chowdhury withdrew his time deposit worth Tk 32.6 million and transferred it to S Alam Cold Rolled Steel Mill account.

On 11 August, S Alam’s associate company Top Ten Trading House withdrew Tk 122.9 million out of Tk 322.7 million from Khatunganj, Agrabad, and Muradpur branches. The remaining funds were deposited in accounts in the names of different individuals at the Agrabad and Muradpur branches. Top Ten Trading House is not repaying a loan of Tk 605.6 million in the bank’s Gulshan branch.

62pc of loans went to S Alam

According to the BB data, Union Bank’s loan was Tk 273.83 billion (27,383 crore) last June. Of the amount, 62 per cent or Tk 172.3 billion (17,229 crore) was sanctioned to S Alam Group and entities linked to it.

The central bank said S Alam Group took loans in the names of 247 entities. Henceforth no money was deposited in the accounts of these entities. A customer of Dhaka’s Panthapath branch was given Tk 1.18 billion without permission from the head office. Most of the institutions in the name of which S Alam took loans are not traceable. The mobile numbers used have also been blocked.

Loans can be granted up to 80 per cent of any termed deposit but the Union Bank gave a loan of Tk 8.53 billion against deposit of Tk 790 million. Besides, it granted loan of Tk 11.75 billion against fake deposits.

On 24 September, Bangladesh Bank's inspection team said in a letter sent to the bank's MD, “S Alam Group's debt to Union Bank is about Tk 180 billion, most of which are fictitious transactions. There is not enough collateral against these loans.”

Meanwhile, the bank is now suffering from liquidity crisis. Cash transactions are suspended in many branches of the bank. The new board is also not able to take any initiative.

Farid Uddin Ahmed, Union Bank’s chairman, told Prothom Alo, “We are constantly trying to improve the situation of the bank through supervision. Only when the central bank gives the final report will it be clear who has taken how much money.”

76pc manpower from Chattogram

As per the BB inspection report 76 per cent manpower of the bank is from Chattogram and they were recruited without any examination. S Alam hails from Chattogram’s Patiya.

The inspection report said although the board was dissolved on 27 August, senior officials and manpower recruited at different layers by the former board are still in place. These senior officials are directly linked with withdrawal of money through various tricks.​

 

[Saif]

CID begins inquiry against ex-land minister Saifuzzaman

The Criminal Investigation Department of the police has started an inquiry against former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury over allegations of laundering money to the United States, the...

www.newagebd.net

CID begins inquiry against ex-land minister Saifuzzaman
Staff Correspondent 31 October, 2024, 18:48

Saifuzzaman Chowdhury | Collected photo

The Criminal Investigation Department of the police has started an inquiry against former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury over allegations of laundering money to the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore.

The Financial Crime Unit of CID received information and allegations from different sources that Saifuzzaman accumulated huge wealth and bought properties by laundering money from Bangladesh, according to a press release issued by CID on Thursday.

CID began the inquiry against Saifuzzaman and the people and organisations connected with him under the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012.

The investigation agency said that the Bangladesh Bank had allowed 21 organisations to invest in foreign countries. The names of the former minister and his family members were not included in that list.

Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, also a former AL lawmaker for Chattogram-13 constituency, bought 620 houses worth $48 crore in the US, UK and UAE between 2016 and 2021.

Between 2010 and 2023, the former land minister opened eight organisations for business purposes in the UK and UAE in the names of his and his wife Rukhmila Zaman. The companies are worth over $21.72 crore, the CID release said.

It said that the ex-land minister opened an organisation named Nahar Management Incorporated in the US in 2005 and bought nine apartments in the US since then.

The former minister opened two organisations in Dubai – the Rapid Rafter FGE and the Jeba Trading FGE – for business purposes and his

wife bought two apartments worth over AED 22.50 lakh at Q Gardens and Butik Residence.

The CID has found that the former minister did not share anything in the candidate’s affidavit to the Election Commission about the properties in foreign countries.

On September 18, the Anti-Corruption Commission started an inquiry against Saifuzzaman Chowdhury over the allegations of laundering money to the United Kingdom and amassing illegal wealth.

On August 12, Bangladesh Bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit froze the bank accounts of the former land minister and his wife. Qatar-based media outlet Al Jazeera reported that Saifuzzaman, then a minister for land affairs and a close ally of the now deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, bought over 360 luxury properties worth $250m in Britain alone.

It claimed that the former minister’s appetite for real estate spread to Dubai, New York, Singapore, and Malaysia.

The report available online mentioned that his property buying gained pace in 2017 when he had set up his UK companies, and it accelerated in 2019 when he became a minister.​

 

[Saif]

Repatriating stolen money is hard, but doable: US Charge dáffaires

US Charge dáffaires Helen LaFave said the US was already supporting Bangladesh with advice and other assistance to help recover the money and bring it back to Bangladesh.

en.prothomalo.com

Repatriating stolen money is hard, but doable: US Charge dáffaires
Prothom Alo English Desk
Published: 31 Oct 2024, 18: 28

US Charge dáffaires Helen LaFave and chief adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus at his office in Tejgaon, Dhaka on 30 October 2024. Courtesy

She also said that the US was already supporting Bangladesh with advice and other assistance to help recover the money and bring it back to Bangladesh.

LaFave said this on Thursday while paying a farewell call on chief adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus at his office in Tejgaon, Dhaka, stated a press release of the chief adviser's press wing.

In response to that the chief adviser said, "We will definitely make it happen."

During the meeting, the acting US envoy told Dr Yunus that the US was expediting resettlement of the Rohingyas from the Bangladesh camp to the North American nation.

Their talks also covered judicial reforms, South Asian electricity connectivity, counterterrorism, efforts to repatriate tens of billions of dollars stolen from Bangladesh during the dictatorship, reforms in civil bureaucracy, and labour issues.

Professor Yunus said his government was also committed to carrying out sweeping labour reforms.

The chief adviser praised LaFave for her service as a top diplomat and appreciated her sincere efforts to advance Bangladesh-US relations at a crucial time.

"I am very proud to witness history," Helen LaFave said as she recounted her memories during the student-led mass uprising in July-August. The US Charge d'Affaires at the time handed over a letter from Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Dr Yunus.

She said a number of senior US officials would visit Bangladesh in the next few months in an effort to cement ties between the two friendly nations.​

 

[Sharma Ji]

How likely are BD intel to put her on a hit-list ? Like take her our proper, on foreign (Indian?) soil using their NSI Jamesul Bond-uddin type spies ?

 

[Sharma Ji]

In case there's no route to extradition, sure doesn't look it like atm anyway.

 

[Sharma Ji]

Do people want vengeance ? are they baying for her blood ?

or is it bygones already, you lot just glad she hightailed it the fugk outta there ?

 

[Saif]

AL policy favouring oligarchs dampened economy

The Awami League government favoured the super-rich who controlled capital and laundered the funds aboard, dampening the country’s economy.

www.thedailystar.net

AL policy favouring oligarchs dampened economy
Says former central bank chief economist Birupaksha Paul

The Awami League government favoured the super-rich who controlled capital and laundered the funds aboard, dampening the country's economy.

Meanwhile, ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina had announced a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption, which is the "biggest mockery of the century", former central bank chief economist Birupaksha Paul has said.

The professor of economics at the State University of New York at Cortland in the US discussed disproportionate economic growth, tampered data, the link between democracy and development, and many other issues in an interview with The Daily Star last week.

He said the AL's economic policy was gradually being biased towards the super-rich who already occupied means of production, capital, and land in this land-scarce country.

The faulty economic policy heavily affected financing through banks, and the capital market malfunctioned. "So, in these cases, the Awami League did not do a good job at all," Paul said.

He said surrendering to the oligarchs and pampering the super-rich despite being a grassroots party ruined the AL's foundational ethics, and it deviated from its own commitments.

"And the super-rich not just only controlled capital, they also laundered a huge part of it," he said.

The market economy was introduced in the early 90s to get rid of monopolies, but the AL created some government-sponsored monopolies, Paul said.

"Someone is controlling everything. Someone is controlling the gold industry, someone is controlling the banking industry, and someone is capturing seven banks.

"Why were you [Hasina] telling the zero-tolerance thing when people very close to you were hugely corrupt? Even before the mass uprising, this fact was divulged by the media, but the government did not take any steps," he said.

DATA

Paul also questioned the data of economic indicators. Even if the World Bank's calculation that Bangladesh's average GDP growth was 5 percent in the past one and a half decades is true, the rate is not bad, he said.

"The problem is that growth does not necessarily indicate development or address income inequality. The most shocking part is – you are growing, but you are growing disproportionately."

The growth is coming from the industrial sector, very specifically just from garments and middlemanship with very little value addition, said the economist.

Unlike politicians, economists have been very serious about the integrity of data. However, data were not reliable because of tampering by some ministers to show high per capita income and growth, and low inflation and unemployment.

"The government was not serious about integrity and honesty of the policy. And the Awami League paid the price," Paul remarked.

DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT

There are some ideal stories where countries like England show that democracy and development are not mutually exclusive, Paul said. "Actually, democracy can make a better way of development."

He thinks there was democracy initially during the AL's tenure, but later the government started saying that development is very important for democracy.

For a strong democracy, institutions must be powerful, but in Bangladesh, institutions were run by mainly people obedient to the government. "The best example was retired bureaucrats, who wouldn't say anything and were not innovative at all," Paul said.

"Although South Korea is developing, why North Korea could not do this? The same people, same culture, but they did not create the institutions. Now, South Korea's income is more than 10 times higher than North Korea."

The AL showed that there were institutions in the country, but even the judiciary, the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Competition Commission, banks, capital market – all were corrupt, said Paul.

"One [AL] leader made 360 houses in London, in England, and without any accountability. Even the prime minister knew about this but did not take any step.

"That's why I said that zero tolerance towards corruption is the biggest mockery of the century."

The East Asian nations invested a lot of money in research, education and health while these sectors are hugely neglected or sometimes totally politicised in Bangladesh, Paul pointed out.

"We cannot improve our educational rankings because we've put all the political people in the institutions and politicised the campuses. Now the interim government has done something like banning one party, one student front. Why not all student fronts?"

Paul hailed incumbent Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur for fighting against inflation.

To tame inflation, Paul advised the authorities to keep the supply chain mechanism friendly to the consumers, and prevent extortions at all levels.

"And a reliable data mechanism should be introduced so that producers can make decisions properly."

Paul recommended abolishing the Financial Institution Division under the finance ministry to ensure minimum influence of the government in the banking sector.

He suggested passing a fiscal responsibility law to ensure fiscal discipline, transparency, and long-term sustainability of public finances.

The economist also recommended restructuring the time of the fiscal year, starting from January instead of July.​

 

[Saif]

Committed to bring back laundered money

While retrieving laundered money is a challenging task, the interim government is fully committed to the effort, said Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to the chief adviser, yesterday.

www.thedailystar.net

Committed to bring back laundered money
Says press secretary

Shafiqul Alam

While retrieving laundered money is a challenging task, the interim government is fully committed to the effort, said Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to the chief adviser, yesterday.

He made the remarks during a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy.

Bangladesh is currently engaged in discussions with various heads of state, international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States to facilitate the recovery of funds siphoned from the country.

According to Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, between $12 billion and $15 billion has been illegally transferred out of Bangladesh annually over the past 15 years.

"Bringing back the laundered money is a tough job. However, the government has implemented extensive measures to recover these public funds, which, if returned, could be used for the betterment of the people," Shafiqul said.

He said Chief Adviser Prof.Muhammad Yunus addressed the issue during meetings with world leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly summit, where the recovery of siphoned funds was a key agenda item.

Shafiqul confirmed that discussions were held with Western ambassadors, including the US ambassador, UK high commissioner, and the Swiss envoy, regarding this matter.

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit is actively working on the issue, collaborating with the FBI.

He said the interim government recognises the significant contributions of the four national leaders -- Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmad, AHM Quamruzzaman and M Mansur Ali -- who were killed in jail on November 3, 1975, and played vital roles during the Liberation War.

Regarding a recent attack on the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Shafiqul condemned all forms of violence and said that the government has ordered a probe into the incident.

He also condemned recent attacks on the Jatiyo Party office, affirming that law enforcement is addressing these issues.​

 

[Saif]

Graft was biggest hurdle in drawing FDI over last 15yrs

Corruption and policy inconsistencies have posed significant challenges to attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh over the past 15 years, said Ashik Chowdhury, the first private-sector leader to head the government’s key investment promotion agencies.

www.thedailystar.net

Graft was biggest hurdle in drawing FDI over last 15yrs
Says head of govt’s key investment promotion agencies BIDA, BEZA

Ashik Chowdhury

Corruption and policy inconsistencies have posed significant challenges to attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh over the past 15 years, said Ashik Chowdhury, the first private-sector leader to head the government's key investment promotion agencies.

"Countries such as India and Vietnam have successfully attracted FDI by shifting away from protective policies," the new executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) said.

"In Bangladesh, the gap between policy and execution will be bridged by promoting a results-driven, investor-focused approach," he said in an interview with The Daily Star.

Strengthening the financial sector, especially foreign currency management, alongside reforms in infrastructure and energy, will support business expansion and attract large-scale investments. A clearer path for ownership and profit transfer is also crucial for foreign investors, he added.

Chowdhury said he is adopting a multipronged approach to improve ease of doing business, with digitalisation at the centre. "We are streamlining processes, improving land access and ensuring policy consistency," he said.

One of the key initiatives will be the launch of the D-Nothi (digital file management system) in November to simplify approval processes and improve coordination with other government agencies to deliver a more integrated investor experience, he said.

BIDA, the government's apex investment promotion agency, has been ramping up efforts to attract FDI through targeted sectoral promotion and direct engagement with industry leaders, according to him.

"We are building a positive narrative by showcasing success stories and competitive advantages. We're using digital engagement platforms to facilitate virtual investment opportunities and organise site visits tailored to investor interests. Our facilitation goal is to build direct connections between high-value businesses and decision-makers.

"We are working closely with international chambers of commerce and industry associations to address concerns and offer customised solutions. We are also enhancing our communication channels to deliver timely and accurate information to investors," he said.

In the coming days, BIDA and BEZA will focus on enhancing capacity and leveraging private-sector expertise, he said. "We want to be the top government agency for investment in the next year by providing a positive experience that inspires people to become ambassadors for Bangladesh."

In order to ensure accountability, BIDA is enhancing its monitoring and evaluation systems and collaborating closely with other government agencies to expedite critical processes such as land acquisition, environmental clearances, and utility connections.

He believes together, these efforts, along with a stable policy framework, will create an environment more conducive to private sector investment, and promote sustainable economic growth.

Chowdhury was an investment banker at HSBC Singapore, specialising in infrastructure and sustainable finance.

He began his banking career at Standard Chartered and headed finance at American Airlines, covering Europe and Asia. He has also advised the Grameen Telecom Trust.

Chowdhury has an MSc in finance from the London Business School. He got his BBA in finance and economics from the Institute of Business Administration at Dhaka University.

A chartered financial analyst, Chowdhury is a certified skydiver and holds the Guinness World Record for the longest freefall with a flag. He is also a private pilot licensed in the UK.​

 

[Saif]

Annually up to $15 billion laundered from Bangladesh during last Awami League tenure

TIB executive director said at ERF event

www.thedailystar.net

Annually up to $15 billion laundered from Bangladesh during last Awami League tenure
TIB executive director said at ERF event

Photo: Collected

Every year some $12 billion to $15 billion was laundered from the country during the immediate past Awami League-led government, Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), said today.

Trade-based money laundering was one of the major ways of money laundering, he said.

Bringing back the laundered money is possible, but it is time-consuming, he said.

Politics, bureaucracy and business should be more responsible for stopping the money laundering.

The TIB executive director made the comments at a seminar on laundered money and how to recover the money, held at the office of the Economic Reporters' Forum in Dhaka.​