Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has seized all bank accounts of former national cricket team captain Shakib Al Hasan. The BFIU confirmed this to journalists last night. On October 2, the agency had summoned all the bank account information of Shakib and his wife Umm Ahmed Shishir and their business organisations to investigate manipulations and financial irregularities in the capital market. After the investigation, BFIU seized all his bank accounts on the orders of the government. Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), the capital market regulatory body, fined Shakib Tk 50 lakh on September 24 for violating the securities law by manipulating the shares of Paramount Insurance. Read: BFIU seeks bank account information of Shakib Al Hasan, his wife Shakib, a star all-rounder, was elected Member of Parliament from Magura-1 Constituency for Awami League in the last parliamentary elections. He was accused in a murder case filed at Adabar police station after the fall of Hasina's government on August 5. Shakib Al Hasan is currently staying in the United States with his family.

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) ordered banks and financial institutions freeze bank accounts of Mojammel Haque Babu, former chief editor of Ekattor Television and president of the Editors Guild, his wife Aparajita Haque, a former lawmaker and their child Sababa Ishayat Haque. The intelligence agency of the central bank issued the directive on Monday. According to a letter from the Bangladesh Bank, all transactions related to the seized accounts will be halted. No transactions will be permitted in these accounts for the next 30 days. The letter also reads that suspension of transactions is in accordance with relevant provisions of anti-money laundering regulations. Read: Mozammel Babu, Shahriar Kabir placed on 7-day remand It includes details such as the names, addresses, and national identification numbers of Babu and his wife, as well as a request for comprehensive information regarding their bank accounts and those of their owned businesses. Mojammel Haque Babu was arrested on September 16 while attempting to cross into India via the Dhobaura border in Mymensingh. Since then, he has been in jail. Read more: Journalists Mozammel Babu, Shyamal Dutta held in Mymensingh while trying to cross the border into India

Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has ordered the freezing of all bank accounts held by Union Bank Managing Director ABM Mokammel Haque Chowdhury and his wife, Nazneen Akhtar. The directive was issued to all banks and financial institutions on Wednesday, following allegations of financial misconduct involving illegal loans. BFIU seeks bank account info of Tawfiq-e-Elahi, Bahauddin Nasim Mokammel is accused of granting unauthorized loan facilities to the S Alam Group, benefiting from these illegal transactions. BFIU has requested all related account information, including Know Your Customer (KYC) details, account opening forms, and updated statements for all accounts held by Mokammel and associated individuals or entities. The BFIU has also asked for transaction vouchers for any amounts exceeding Tk 5 lakh to be submitted within two working days. BFIU asks to freeze bank accounts of former DSCC mayor Taposh, wife, and son Further allegations have surfaced that Mokammel withdrew his full salary at various times, despite Union Bank customers being unable to access their own funds due to the bank's financial restrictions.

Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has instructed banks and financial institutions to provide the account details of former Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, Bir Bikram, and Awami League Joint Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim. The BFIU's request, issued on Tuesday, also seeks the financial information of Nasim's wife, Sultana Shamima Chowdhury, and their son and daughter, ABM Siddique and Nuzhat Tabassum. BFIU asks to freeze bank accounts of former DSCC mayor Taposh, wife, and son In a letter to the financial institutions, the BFIU noted that the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act would apply to these accounts. The institutions have been directed to submit documents such as account opening forms, Know Your Customer (KYC) details, and transaction statements within two working days of the letter's issuance. This request comes as part of an ongoing investigation. Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury was arrested last month and remains in custody.

A Dhaka court on Thursday issued a travel ban on former head of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit of Bangladesh Bank ( BFIU) Masud Biswas. The commission decided to initiate investigation on September 26 and formed four committees to probbe alleged corruption of former BFIU chief Masud Biswas According to the ACC's primary investigations, Biswas allegedly amassed huge wealth within a short time. He adopted unfair means regarding the aircraft purchase of Sky Capital Airlines Limited, according to the primary investigation. Read: Travel ban imposed on former fisheries minister SM Rezaul Karim By taking a bribe from the company,Biswas concluded an investigation of the company without sending a report to the law enforcement agency. Biswas also approved a report as a general monitoring report instead of an intelligence report under the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations. The report was related to the embezzlement of Tk 50 billion by NRB Commercial Bank Chairman Tamal Parvez. Read more: Travel ban imposed on 8 former AL ministers, 6 MPs As an accomplice of Saiful Alam Masud, chairman of S Alam Group, the ex-BFIU officialsiphoned off billions of taka taking loans from Islami Bank.

A bank account holder can withdraw cash up to two lakh taka a day for this week given the current security situation, according to a Bangladesh Bank circular. The central bank issued the instruction to the MDs of all commercial banks through SMS on Saturday. It will be effective from Sunday, the first working day of the week. Earlier on Thursday the maximum cash withdrawal limit was set at one lakh taka.    Read more: Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf resigns However, businesspeople can draw larger amount of cash for payment of salaries of employees ensuring security on their own, said the circular. The same is applicable for the expatriates. The central bank also asked banks to supervise that a person cannot withdraw money from multiple branches of banks in a day. This directive should be followed especially in the case of key political leaders. On Thursday, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) under the BB was ordered to report any amount of money withdrawn by a politically important person. The names of political leaders, bank chairmen, businessmen, secretaries, and senior police officers are on this list. Such instruction is given mainly to prevent any person from withdrawing money for criminal activity or escaping from the country. Read more: Bangladesh Bank operates without governor and deputy governors

Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder on Monday (March 11, 2024) said that around 200 mobile financial services (MFS) accounts are closing each day due to their Hundi connection. The central bank is checking rigorously trade transactions through LC and mobile financial services to prevent money laundering activities by any means, he said. The governor said this in the opening ceremony of the money laundering prevention workshop held at the head office of the Criminal Investigation (CID), Bangladesh Police in the capital on Monday. Rauf highlighted the steps taken to prevent money laundering since his joining the Central Bank as Governor. He said, “When I joined Bangladesh Bank in 2022, there was a severe crisis of foreign exchange in the country. At that time took the first step to stop over-invoicing.” Read more: Inflation, currency prime focus of BB’s next monetary policy Again, money laundering occurs despite keeping the profit of export products abroad. Initiatives are also taken to prevent that, he mentioned. The governor expressed the strong stand of the central bank on banning hundi. He said that expatriates may send Tk500 to their family in the country, then he gives it to someone he knows abroad and asks him to give it to his family in the country. That money remains abroad. In contrast, a representative in Bangladesh paid the amount. As earlier payment was made through home delivery, now it is done through MFS. Read more: Entry-level women's recruitment doubles in banking sector, but board representation still lagging Around 200 such accounts are being closed every day. Later some accounts were opened again with guarantees, permanent action was taken against some of them, he said. Highlighting the context of the campaign against money changers, the governor said that USD $45 to $50 million transactions are done through money changers in the country every year. About $270 billion in transitions are made in the banking channel. But despite a small fraction of transactions, when money changers hiked the dollar rate, many expatriates tried to hold on to remittances. This is how the dollar crisis was created, Rouf pointed out. “That is why the campaign against money changers is ongoing. Also, avoid dealing in cryptocurrencies. It is completely illegal in our country,” said the BB Governor. CID Chief and Additional IGP Muhammad Ali Mia in the chair, head of Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) Md. Masud Biswas also spoke at the function. Read more: Bangladesh received $2.16 billion remittances in February, highest in fiscal

The High Court today ordered the authorities concerned to probe into the much talked about and reported “loan scam” in three banks – Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank Ltd and First Security Islami Bank – and submit the report within next four months. The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order after issuing a Suo Motu (voluntary) rule following newspaper reports. The court directed Bangladesh Bank’s Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Bangladesh Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to submit the probe report. Read: Basic Bank loan scam: HC orders ACC to complete probe in 3 months At the same time, the court ordered the authorities of these three banks to submit the list of bank officials involved in approving loans worth thousands of crores of taka. The HC also issued a rule, asking why the inaction of the banks to take action against those responsible for approving loans worth thousands of crores and S Alam Group’s Tk 30,000 loan should not be declared illegal. The rule also asked why no instructions should be given to take action against those responsible. Read: Loan default case: 12 Pabna farmers get bail Besides, the HC bench asked S Alam Group to explain the newspaper reports that said the company took Tk 30,000 crore from Islami Bank. The court also set April 5 next year for the hearing and asked to submit the report after verifying the authenticity of the news published. Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan for ACC and Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik for the state were present in the court. Read More: Loan default case: 12 Pabna farmers get bail On November 24, a report was published in the daily Prothom Alo stating that an “unscrupulous group” had taken a loan of Tk 2,000 crore from Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) by opening two companies with fake addresses and papers. In all, about Tk 7,000 crore loans have been approved from Islami Bank in various ways in the name of eight companies this year. The maximum amount of loan, Tk 2,460 crore, was withdrawn from November 1 to 17, according to the newspaper report. Read More: Women entrepreneurs repay loans in most cases: Commerce Minister In the same way, the companies have withdrawn Tk 2,320 crore loan from Social Islami Bank Limited (SIBL) and the First Security Islami Bank. As a result, the debt of the companies with interest to these three banks has increased to Tk 9,500 crores, it added. Meanwhile, another report published in the New Age newspaper on November 29 said that S Alam Group alone has taken loan of Tk 30,000 crore from Islami Bank. Read More: Payment of Hajj Finance Loan and DPS Instalment through Nagad

Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has suspended cash out from 230 accounts of Mobile Financial Service (MFS) for their involvement in the transfer of remittances through hundi, an unauthorised channel. The BFIU has taken the initiative to prevent transfer of remittances through hundi and increase remittances through legal channel. According to BFIU, the customers concerned will not be able to withdraw money from these accounts until further instructions, but money can be sent to these accounts. Read: BFIU launched standalone website to strengthen awareness against money laundering The suspended accounts are with bKash, Nagad, upay, and Rocket.

Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has found proof of irregular transactions from the bank account of e-commerce site e-orange by the company’s owner Sonia Mehjabin, her husband Masukur Rahman and her brother sub-inspector (suspended) Sheikh Sohel Rana. BFIU submitted a report to the High Court (HC) bench of Justices Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Khijir Hayat in this regard on Wednesday. According to the report, Sonia in association with her husband, brother and uncle transferred Tk 18.56 crore from the bank account of e-orange to their personal bank accounts to buy properties. “Instead of providing products to customers, Sonia and her associates took advance payments and embezzled the money, which is tantamount to fraudulence,” the report reads. The report says that the transactions were made by opening a total of 13 accounts with different banks and financial institutions. Between January 2019 and September 2021, Tk 1111.45 crore  had been deposited and Tk 1109.97 crore had been withdrawn from these accounts. Most of the transactions happened between January 2020 and July 2021, the report added. In the report, BFIU said that banks provided information of all the transactions made by e-orange to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police on June 23, 2021. On CID’s request, transactions in these bank accounts were suspended on August 25, 2021 following Section 23(1)(C) of Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012. Read more: Reported suspicious financial transactions up by 62.32% in FY22: BFIU The High Court on April 7, 2022 directed the Anti-Corruption Commission and Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit to investigate the allegation of money laundering and embezzling customers’ money against e-commerce platform E-orange and submit their report within four months. The HC also wanted to know about the steps taken for bringing back the fugitive accused of e-commerce platform. Read more: BFIU sought illegal money information from Swiss banks repeatedly: BB It also issued a rule asking the government to explain as to why directives should not be given to the authorities concerned to take legal action against those involved in siphoning off money of the customers of e-commerce platform E-orange after investigation. The customers of E-orange ordered products from the e-commerce platform by collecting e-ticket after clearing payments. But the company did not provide the products to the respective customers. In this circumstances, on April 3, 2021, some 547 customers filed a writ petition seeking return of Tk 77.46 crore and directives for investigations into the allegation of money laundering against the company.