Nasrul Hamid Bipu, a close associate of the fallen autocrat Sheikh Hasina and the main financial backer of the Awami think tank CRI, allegedly did not take money within the country. He reportedly told his close associates that he "felt disgusted by the sight of money." Instead, he had an obsession with dollars and euros. His corrupt transactions were carried out abroad.
So far, assets belonging to Bipu and his family have been traced in at least 16 countries. However, many believe his looted wealth is stashed in even more countries. The countries where assets have been found include: the United Arab Emirates, United States, United Kingdom, Bermuda, Malta, British Virgin Islands, Monaco, Cyprus, and Turkey.
In the U.S., allegations have surfaced that Nasrul Hamid Bipu laundered billions of taka through a company he established. While setting up this company, he used the address of his own residence in Florida. The five-bedroom house is valued at USD 3,617,415 — equivalent to around 423.4 million Bangladeshi taka. There, along with a businessman named Sharif Haidar and his wife Seema Hamid, he registered a trade corporation called "Path Finder International." Under this corporation, they established around a dozen and a half businesses including a Mobil gas station, which was reportedly bought for several million dollars. Through Sharif Haidar, Bipu allegedly laundered billions of taka to the U.S.
In Dubai, UAE, three luxury apartments are registered under the name of Bipu’s wife, Seema Hamid. His son, Zarif Hamid, lives in a luxurious villa in Palm Beach, Dubai, where he owns multiple businesses. In London’s Stratford area, Bipu owns a house and also runs businesses in Manchester. In Canada, he reportedly owns a residential hotel and a petrol station.
At least three of Bipu’s companies are registered on the Singapore Stock Exchange, where he has invested billions of taka. In Malta, a bar and casino have been found under the name of his wife, Seema Hamid. In Malaysia, Bipu’s son Zarif holds the majority share of a rubber factory, with the share value reportedly being 8.5 billion taka. These mountains of foreign assets are allegedly built from looted funds from the power sector.
It is reported that from project initiation to approval, Bipu’s syndicate extorted money through at least 20 different steps — including planning, site visits, equipment approvals, negotiations, site selection, land acquisition, setting power purchase rates, commissioning, reporting to the ministry, procurement approvals, billing approvals, and bill payments — every stage required bribes to the syndicate.
In the power sector, they allegedly extorted millions by manipulating procurement and development projects, selecting favored officials for lucrative committees, promotions, and postings. Even to get appointed to company boards, large sums were reportedly paid. Furthermore, the syndicate allegedly blackmailed project directors or company executives by publishing negative media reports through their insiders.
Investigations revealed that active members of the syndicate included the former state minister's younger brother, Intekhabul Hamid Apu, and a nephew of a former bridge minister. Financial management of the syndicate’s illicit income was handled by the minister's APS Mujahidul Islam Mamun, influential figure Shahin Chairman from Keraniganj, and public relations officer Mir Aslam — all known as "cashiers" for the group.
It was found that Intekhabul Hamid Apu and the bridge minister’s nephew secured projects worth 80 billion taka through at least four companies over five years. Allegedly, in the IT sector alone, they secured 12 large mega projects from the power division. In FY 2020–2021, they took control of two projects named "Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)" from DPDC and NESCO worth 20 billion taka. In FY 2021–2022, the same company secured another mega project from DPDC under the guise of developing a mobile app and customer portal worth 5 billion taka.
Through a single organization, Apu allegedly grabbed nearly seven mega projects for billing from DPDC, NESCO, BPDB, DESCO, and REB, with a total value exceeding 50 billion taka. Under the pretense of setting up data centers, eight additional mega projects were taken using two tech companies.
Furthermore, abusing Nasrul Hamid Bipu’s influence, his brother Apu obtained eight mega projects titled "Network and Security" via a company. Among them was a 50-lakh meter installation project from REB on June 1, 2023, worth 23 billion taka.
Bipu assigned Apu the task of collecting monthly bribes worth crores from rental and quick rental power stations. His main responsibility included facilitating private power plant approvals, forming evaluation committees, reviewing plants, and investigating irregularities. Through blackmailing, he reportedly generated hundreds of crores monthly for Nasrul Hamid.
Power sector insiders claim that Nasrul Hamid conducted no financial transactions within Bangladesh; most of his dealings were international.
