State run Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has identified more than a hundred individuals and institutions involved in money laundering abroad.
Of these, only 10 institutions and four individuals have laundered $80 billion, 9 lakh and 52 thousand crore in Bangladeshi currency, various countries across the globe, including US, UK, Canada, Singapore, and Dubai. With the help of domestic and international organizations, a hit-list has been prepared.
Upon importance and consideration of current state of the country, the preparations are being made to take “action” against those 10 institutions and four individuals at first.
As soon as the new commission takes the office, steps, including sending Mutual Legal Assistance Requests (MLARs) to the countries where the money was laundered, will be taken to recover laundered assets.
At the same time, legal actions against those individuals and institutions will be taken based on precise information.
An ACC official confirmed this information on condition of anonymity, saying: “The initial investigation of ACC has found connection of more than a hundred individuals and organizations in money laundering.”
However, the ousted prime-mister Sheikh Hasina and her family members are not included in the hit-list of ACC, but she and her family was in the list launderers- list of top launderers.
Only 10 institutions and four individuals on the list have laundered $80 billion abroad. Later, the names of two more individuals will be added to the list. In addition, all launderers will be brought under the law in phases and appropriate measures will be taken to recover their trafficked assets.
“We are trying our best to recover laundered money,” director general (prevention) of ACC Md Akhtar Hossain said, adding that they had held meetings with delegations from various organizations.
“So far, 71 MLARs have been sent to 12 countries of the world seeking legal assistance, including recovery of money laundered from Bangladesh. Out of these, 27 responses have been received,” he added while talking the progress.
Names in the “Hit-list”
The ACC has prepared the hit-list in coordination with Bangladesh Bank (BB), Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), National Board of Revenue (NBR), and international organization against laundering Suspicious Transection Reports (STRs).
The institutions and individuals on the hit list are; former chairman of United Commercial Bank (UCB) and lank minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed, wife Rukhmila Zaman, Beximco owners including Salman F Rahman, NASA group owner and former chairman of Exim Bank Nazrul Islam Mazumder, Sikder group director and former directors of National Bank Ron Haque Sikder, Rick Haque Sikder, and their mother Monowara Sikder, and sister Parveen Haque Sikder.
Summit group chairman Muhammed Aziz Khan and his wife, three daughters, four brothers and their children, Orion group chairman Mohammad Obaidul Karim, his wife Arjuda Karim, sons Salman Obaidul Karim, Mehdi Hasan and daughter Zarin Karim, Gemcon group’s late founder Kazi Shahid Ahmed sons also director of the group Kazi Anis Ahmed, Kazi Inam Ahmed, and Kazi Nabil Ahmed, and Nabil group chairman Jahan Box Mondol, managing director Md Aminul Islam, and their family members.
And individuals on the hit-list are; former inspector general of police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed, for NBR member Matiur Rahman, former BFIU chief Masud Biswas, and resigned Padma Bank chairman Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat and their family members.
Two names that are set to put on the hit-list are BB’s former governor Abdur Rouf Talukder, and former Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) chairman Professor Shibli Rubayat-ul-Islam.
More than hundred individuals and institutions involved
The initial investigations of ACC has found specific evidence of money laundering abroad against at least 100 people, including ministers, state ministers, MPs, and Zila Parishad chairmen of the ousted Awami League government. The list includes- Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, Tipu Munshi, Anisul Haque, Muhammad Tajul Islam, Md Faridul haque khan, Golam Dastagir Gazi, Md Zahid Ahsan Russel, Anwar Hossain Chowdhury, Hasanul Haque Inu, SM Rezaul Karim, Zahid Malek, Dr Dipu Moni, Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury, Sadhan Chandra Majumder, Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, Kamal Ahmed Mojumder, Shajahan Khan, Kamrul Islam, Kujendra Lal Tripura, Nasrul Hamid, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, Junaid Ahmed Palak, Md Zakir Hossain, Imran Ahmad and Mohammed Hasan Mahmud.
International organizations will help
Since October 1, several international organizations have pledged their full cooperation to the ACC in the recovery of laundered assets. These include the international organization STAR, the European Union, the World Bank, the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), etc.
Apart from this, ambassadors of various countries have also pledged their full cooperation in preventing money laundering and recovering laundered money in a meeting with the Chief Advisor.
(Sourcer: Kaler Kantho)
Translated by Afsar Munna
