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

[Saif]

ACC finds Tk 352 million in FDR under CRI’s name

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has announced the discovery of a fixed deposit receipt (FDR) account valued at approximately Tk 352.1 million in the name of the Centre for Research and Information (CRI) the Awami League’s research wing. ACC Director General Md Akhtar Hossain told report

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

ACC finds Tk 352 million in FDR under CRI’s name
bdnews24.com
Published :
Feb 04, 2025 20:08
Updated :
Feb 04, 2025 20:08

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has announced the discovery of a fixed deposit receipt (FDR) account valued at approximately Tk 352.1 million in the name of the Centre for Research and Information (CRI) the Awami League’s research wing.

ACC Director General Md Akhtar Hossain told reporters on Tuesday that an FDR worth Tk 352.1 million has been found under the name of CRI at IFIC Bank.

Further transaction records were obtained from Sonali Bank.

He added that the commission’s enforcement team will conduct a detailed review of all documents and bank statements gathered during the investigation.

Awami League chief and deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy chairs CRI’s board of trustees.

Her daughter Saima Wazed Putul serves as its vice-chair, while Hasina’s sister Sheikh Rehana’s son Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby is also a trustee.

According to ACC officials, they received allegations that CRI’s board of trustees had facilitated certain “political agendas,” resulting in “losses to state funds”.

Investigators then visited CRI’s Dhanmondi office, but found it closed.

In the course of their inquiry, they also collected account information from Dutch-Bangla Bank, IFIC Bank, and Sonali Bank.

ACC Assistant Director Raju Ahmed, who led the operation, explained that the investigation seeks to determine whether state funds were used for proper institutional purposes or diverted in a way that harmed public finances.

On Sept 30 last year, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, or BFIU, ordered the freezing of accounts belonging to CRI, its Young Bangla project, and the personal accounts of Joy, Putul, and Bobby.

Joy previously served as an unpaid ICT advisor to prime minister Hasina and currently resides in the United States.

Putul, an autism specialist, has been the World Health Organization’s Regional Director since Feb 1 and is based in New Delhi.

Bobby, though not officially affiliated with the Awami League government, has engaged in youth empowerment initiatives through Young Bangla.

The bank accounts of former state minister for power, energy, and mineral resources Nasrul Hamid Bipu — once a CRI trustee — were also frozen.

After the Awami League government was overthrown in popular protests, numerous legal cases were filed naming Hasina, Joy, Putul, Bobby, and Bipu as defendants.​

 

[Saif]

Hasina, Rehana, relatives own 4 bungalows in Gazipur

Hasina, Rehana, relatives own 4 bungalows in Gazipur

At least four bungalows have been traced in Gazipur that are owned by family members and relatives of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana

en.prothomalo.com

 

[Saif]

MONEY LAUNDERING: Ex-Basic Bank chair Bacchu sued again

The Anti-Corruption Commission on Sunday filed another four cases against former Basic Bank chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu and his family members, accusing them of amassing illegal wealth amounting to Tk 248 crore and laundering money to Canada...

www.newagebd.net

MONEY LAUNDERING: Ex-Basic Bank chair Bacchu sued again
Staff Correspondent 10 February, 2025, 00:10

The Anti-Corruption Commission on Sunday filed another four cases against former Basic Bank chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu and his family members, accusing them of amassing illegal wealth amounting to Tk 248 crore and laundering money to Canada.

The cases were filed with the ACC›s integrated district office in Dhaka-1, following the commission›s approval, ACC spokesperson and director general (prevention) Md Aktar Hossain said.

The development came only six days after a special judge’s court in Dhaka ordered further investigation in 14 out of 59 cases filed against Bacchu and others in 2015 over embezzlement and laundering money from Basic Bank.

None of Bacchu, also a former Jatiya Party lawmaker for the Bagerhat-1 constituency, and his family members, however, is yet to be arrested though a number of special judge’s courts in Dhaka issued arrest warrants against them.

The ACC submitted charge sheets in all the 59 cases in June 2023.

Of the cases, only one is at the trial stage, and 58 are at the stage of hearing on charge framing.

In the first case filed on Sunday, Bacchu is accused of amassing illegal assets worth Tk 124.93 crore, concealing information, and laundering Tk 56.57 crore to Canada.

The charges state that Bacchu obtained the wealth by providing loans to 58 fake entities through fraudulent activities and violating banking rules.

The second case was filed on the day against Bacchu and his wife Shirin Aktar, who is alleged to have accumulated Tk 36.51 crore beyond known sources of income with the help of her husband.

In the third case, Bacchu and his son, Sheikh Sabid Hay Anik, are accused of amassing Tk 43.62 crore illegally. Anik is also accused of laundering Tk 87.62 lakh to Canada.

The fourth case on Sunday involves Bacchu›s daughter, Sheikh Rafa Hye, who is accused of amassing Tk 40.41 crore illegally with her father’s assistance. Rafa Hye is also alleged to have laundered Tk 74.81 lakh to Canada.

In 2015, the ACC had filed 59 cases on charges of embezzling Tk 2,265 crore from BASIC Bank.

It, however, refrained from accusing the bank’s the then chairman Bacchu in these cases though he was allegedly the mastermind behind the whole financial scam.

In June 2023, the ACC submitted charge sheets in these cases, accusing Bacchu in 58 out of the 59 cases filed over the loan scam.

Besides Bacchu, the bank’s 46 officials and 101 customers were also made accused in the graft cases.

The ACC also filed another case in October 2023, accusing Bacchu and five others of corruption and money laundering in the purchase of land in the capital›s Cantonment Bazar area.​

 

[Saif]

MONEY LAUNDERING: ACC seeks info from 12 countries on Tulip’s allegations

The Anti-Corruption Commission has sent letters to 12 countries, seeking information about individuals, including former United Kingdom’s city minister Tulip Siddiq, who were allegedly involved in money laundering...

www.newagebd.net

MONEY LAUNDERING: ACC seeks info from 12 countries on Tulip’s allegations
Staff Correspondent 10 February, 2025, 00:14

Tulip Siddiq.

The Anti-Corruption Commission has sent letters to 12 countries, seeking information about individuals, including former United Kingdom’s city minister Tulip Siddiq, who were allegedly involved in money laundering.

Tulip is a niece of the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and a daughter of Hasina’s younger sister Sheikh Rehana.

ACC director general (prevention) Aktar Hossain came up with the information on sending letters in response to a question at a press briefing at the commission’s Segun Bagicha headquarters in the capital Dhaka on Sunday.

He stated that an inquiry into Tulip’s alleged involvement in corruption was currently underway, and information had been sought from relevant countries.

He also mentioned that the ACC has sought information about the other individuals involved in alleged money laundering.

According to ACC officials, a total of 71 letters have been sent to 12 countries to trace and recover funds laundered abroad. The ACC has already received responses to 27 of these letters, signalling progress in the probe investigation.

Meanwhile, Tulip was listed as a resident of a luxury 10-storey tower block in the Bangladeshi capital named after her family, The Telegraph revealed.

Officials in Dhaka believe the former anti-corruption minister’s ‘permanent address’ was the upmarket apartment complex named ‘Siddiques’ in 2014, while she was a councillor in Camden, north London.

The property at Gulshan, home to embassies and major businesses, is the fifth in Bangladesh to be linked to Tulip, either through court papers or news reports.

Labour party sources say she does not own any properties in Bangladesh and does not need to answer questions on addresses that do not belong to her, the report said.

Nearly a month after she resigned as city minister, Tulip is still facing questions over her property affairs and links to her aunt Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian regime in Bangladesh.

She was forced to resign from the front bench after Sir Laurie Magnus, the UK prime minister’s ethics adviser, found that she had inadvertently misled the public over a flat gifted to her by a man linked to the Awami League party led by Sheikh Hasina.

The 10-storey apartment block in the upmarket Gulshan area of the capital Dhaka was built in the 2010s and according to a promotional video is home to a roof terrace and two and three-bedroom properties with balconies.

It is unclear if the building is named after Tulip Siddiq’s father Shafique Ahmed Siddique, her grandfather or the family in general.

In addition to the property named after family members, Tulip has been linked to another address at Gulshan and her aunt’s house at Dhanmondi in court papers.

The latter was set on fire and ransacked by angry protesters this week in response to a speech by Sheikh Hasina.

Tulip also previously owned a flat in Dhaka with another family member worth more than £1,00,000 which was sold in 2015 according to Parliament’s Register of Interests.

The ACC is also investigating claims Tulip was involved in the £4 billion embezzlement of funds from a nuclear power plant deal with Russia and claims she used her influence to help illegally allocate land for her family in the country’s capital.

The Telegraph in another report revealed that Bangladesh was investigating a luxury rural retreat with Tulip Siddiq’s name at its entrance.

The sprawling estate featuring signs for Tulip’s Territory is being examined by Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission amid claims of land grabbing over the plot in the village of Kanaiya.

According to official records, the wider plot includes eight bighas (3.3 acres) owned by her father, but local accounts suggest the walled-off area is much larger.

The estate, which includes a pink duplex with a roof terrace, tin houses, palm trees and a pond with wooden boats now shows signs of vandalism and fire damage.​

 

[Saif]

Chief Adviser directs bringing bank looters to justice

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus today (Sunday) directed the Bangladesh Bank governor and the authorities concerned to bring those involved in looting money from banks to justice as soon as possible. He gave the directives at a meeting on 'Bangladesh Economy: Recent Challenges and Future Way

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Chief Adviser directs bringing bank looters to justice
FE Online Desk
Published :
Feb 09, 2025 20:30
Updated :
Feb 09, 2025 20:30

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus today (Sunday) directed the Bangladesh Bank governor and the authorities concerned to bring those involved in looting money from banks to justice as soon as possible.

He gave the directives at a meeting on 'Bangladesh Economy: Recent Challenges and Future Way Forward' at the Chief Adviser's Office (CAO), BSS reports.

Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam revealed the outcomes of the meeting at a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital.

Alam said the Chief Adviser has asked that those involved in bank robbery and those against whom there are specific allegations should be brought to justice soon.

"They should not be out of the purview of the law. They must be brought under the law at any cost," he said, quoting Prof Yunus as saying.

"Those who looted bank money have actually looted the money of the common people of Bangladesh. So, it is urgent to bring them to justice at any cost," the Chief Adviser said.

At the meeting, Prof Yunus expressed satisfaction over the country's current economic situation. However, he said, "We need to do better. We were in a very bad situation, and now we are coming to a better position from that place. But we have to take it to a better place, this is our challenge."

He also instructed the authorities concerned to find a suitable solution to the complications Beximco is facing.

Echoed Chief Adviser Prof Yunus, CA Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumdar said there has been a 23 percent growth in expatriate income as immigration is increasing.

However, the Chief Adviser said there is nothing to celebrate this right now, as there is still a huge potential in this sector, he said, adding that Prof Yunus instructed the authorities concerned to tap this potential.

In addition, Prof Yunus ordered taking necessary measures to quickly reopen visas for Bangladeshi migrants in countries where visas are currently closed.

At the meeting, Financial Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed said the macroeconomic stability has returned and Bangladesh is going to a stable place.

During the meeting, Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur informed the chief adviser that all assets of the S Alam Group have already been seized to recover the stolen money from the bank.

In addition, he said, several steps have been taken against Nagad.

The governor also said 12 oligarchs who looted money from banks have been identified. "We are taking the help of foreign experts to find out how they took the money. Efforts are being made to bring back the laundered money in accordance with international protocols," he added.

The central bank governor said all government agencies, including Bangladesh Bank, are working on this with utmost importance.

A delegation from the UK has visited Bangladesh to provide assistance in recovering the laundered money, and a delegation from Switzerland is also coming to Bangladesh, he said, adding, "Apart from this, we are talking to the US and Canada."

The governor said the government is trying to bring back US$ 234 billion that was laundered from Bangladesh.

Chief Adviser's Deputy Press Secretary Apurba Jahangir and Assistant Press Secretary Suchismita Tithi were also present at the press briefing.​

 

[Saif]

Corruption increased in last year of AL regime

Transparency International in its Corruption Perception Index 2024 indicated that corruption was increasing in Bangladesh as the country slipped two steps in its global Corruption Perception Index to 151, jointly with Congo and Iran.

www.newagebd.net

Corruption increased in last year of AL regime
Solamain Salman 11 February, 2025, 13:07

Bangladesh scored 13-year low on CPI

Transparency International in its Corruption Perception Index 2024 indicated that corruption was increasing in Bangladesh as the country slipped two steps in its global Corruption Perception Index to 151, jointly with Congo and Iran.

According to the report, Bangladesh has scored 23 to become the 14th most corrupt country globally and the second most corrupt state in South Asia, only ahead of Afghanistan scoring 17.

In 2023, Bangladesh ranked 149th with a score of 24.

The Berlin-based anti-graft watchdog’s Bangladesh chapter, Transparency International Bangladesh, presented the results of CPI 2024 on Tuesday at a press conference at its Dhaka office, terming the country’s performance as ‘disappointing.’

Bangladesh’s latest score is the lowest in the past 13 years, highlighting a troubling trend in governance and corruption.

The 2024 corruption index has been prepared based on the data for the period spanning from November 2021 to September 2024.

Over the past 12 years, the country’s corruption score remained consistently poor, with 2024’s score being 6 points worse than the highest score of 28 achieved in 2017.

The Transparency International index measures the level of perceived corruption on a scale of 0 to 100. Score ‘0’ is considered the most corrupt, while ‘100’ is considered the least corrupt or the most well-governed.

TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman at the press conference put the unbridled corruption down largely to the absence of effective actions against high level corruption and money laundering incidents against which there was concrete evidence.

The state institutions mandated to control corruption, including the Anti-Corruption Commission and judicial bodies, continued to operate under partisan political influence, he said.

He also said that even after the fall of the authoritarian regime, abuse of power and corrupt practices in political and governance spaces persisted, risking the freedom to dissent, media freedom and civic space.

Since 2012, Bangladesh’s score in the CPI stayed between 25 and 28 until 2022. In 2023, it decreased by one point to 24.

A trend analysis of CPI scores of 2012–2024 shows that Bangladesh’s score of 23 in 2024 is three points lower than the 13-year average score of 26.

Transparency International said that governments across the Asia-Pacific were still failing to deliver on anti-corruption pledges.

After years of stagnation, the 2024 average score for the region dropped by one point to 44 in CPI 2024, it said.

Globally, the CPI scores of 56 countries have increased this year compared with the previous year. The scores of 93 countries decreased while 31 countries’ remained unchanged.

Over two-thirds of the world’s countries scored below 50 in 2024, and 56 per cent scored below the global average of 43.

While the scores of 32 countries improved in the index from 2012 to 2024, the scores of 47 countries declined, and 101 countries remained unchanged.

The CPI report states that Denmark topped the list in 2024 as the least corrupt country with a score of 90, with Finland securing the second place with 88 score, while Singapore occupied the third place with a score of 84.

Scoring just 8, South Sudan is placed at the bottom of the list in 2024, Somalia in the second-lowest position with a score of 9, and Venezuela in the third-lowest position with a score of 10.

In the past 12 years, Bangladesh has not even come close to touching the global average in the CPI score. In fact, its scores rose only thrice, while mostly going down.

The best position Bangladesh secured for itself among 180 countries was in 2013 when it ranked 136th.

Even pitted against its neighbours, Bangladesh does not fare well, according to the TI report—Bhutan became 18th, Maldives 96th, India 96th, Nepal 107th, Sri Lanka 121st and Pakistan 135th—are all above Bangladesh. Among the countries only Bhutan has crossed the global average with a score of 72.

Only Afghanistan, ranked 165th with 17 score is behind Bangladesh in South Asia. The lowest on the list—meaning the most corrupt—is war-torn South Sudan scoring 8.

Bangladesh’s score is 6 points less than the average of other authoritarian regimes in the world. It score is also 6 points lower than the average score for countries with lowest Human Development Index, and also 6 points lower than the average for countries with closed civic space.

The keynote paper presented at the press conference, the TIB gave some recommendations, the major one of which is implementing the recommendations of the Anti-Corruption Reform Commission with a specific focus on reforming the ACC making it truly independent and accountable.

Depoliticising state institutions such as the ACC, bureaucracy, law-enforcement agencies and judiciary has also been recommended.

Contacted, ACC director general (prevention) Md Aktar Hossain on Tuesday declined to comment over the CPI report, saying that they had yet to see the report.​

 

[Saif]

Court orders freezing of S Alam family’s Tk 5,109cr shares, profits

A Dhaka court on Wednesday ordered to freeze shares, owned by S Alam Group owner Mohammed Saiful Alam and his family members, worth more than Tk 5,109 crore of different companies and profit against the shares...

www.newagebd.net

Court orders freezing of S Alam family’s Tk 5,109cr shares, profits
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha . Dhaka 12 February, 2025, 17:48

Mohammed Saiful Alam.

A Dhaka court on Wednesday ordered to freeze shares, owned by S Alam Group owner Mohammed Saiful Alam and his family members, worth more than Tk 5,109 crore of different companies and profit against the shares.

Dhaka metropolitan senior special judge Zakir Hossain Galib passed the order, allowing a plea of the Anti-Corruption Commission.

The commission in its plea said that it was probing allegations of laundering $1 billion to different countries, including Singapore, British Virgin Island, and Cyprus, against Mohammed Saiful Alam and his family members.

‘During the investigation, we have received information of these 437,85,02,247 shares, owned by Mohammed Saiful Alam and his family members of 42 companies. The nominal value of these shares is Tk 5109,67,96,260. If the accused can transfer or hand over these shares, all our efforts will go in vain. So, these shares and profits against these should be frozen,’ the plea added.​