The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) will soon submit charge-sheets in 17 money-laundering cases filed against Beximco Group Vice-Chairman Salman F Rahman and several others over their alleged involvement in laundering US$97 million under the guise of foreign trade between 2020 and 2024.
Additional inspector general of police and also chief of CID Sibgat Ullah made the disclosure at a press briefing at the CID headquarters in the capital's Malibag area on Sunday.
He said the CID filed 17 money laundering cases with Motijheel Police Station on September 17 and 18, 2024 under the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012.
The investigation revealed that large sums of foreign currency were illegally transferred abroad through various channels by opening fake letters of credit (LCs) in the name of foreign trade. Several individuals and entities were named as accused in these cases.
The CID has recently completed its investigation and will submit the charge-sheets to the court as soon as possible. The investigation has found that Beximco Group Chairman ASF Rahman, Salman F Rahman, and several others were involved in laundering money abroad through 17 corporate entities.
Mr Sibgat Ullah also said the entities used for the alleged transactions included Adventure Garments, Apollo Apparels, Autumn Loop Apparels, Bextex Garments, Cosmopolitan Apparels, Cozy Apparels, Esses Fashion International Knitwear and Apparels, Kanchpur Apparels, Midwest Garments, Peerless Garments, Pink Maker Garments, Platinum Garments, Skynet Apparels, Springful Apparels, Urban Fashions, and Winter Spring Garments Limited.
The investigators found that these companies opened LCs or export contracts through Janata Bank PLC's Motijheel branch in Dhaka, but failed to repatriate export proceeds.
The export earnings were allegedly siphoned off abroad through RR Global Trading in Dubai - owned by Ahmed Shayan Fazlur Rahman, son of Salman F Rahman, and Ahmed Shahriar Rahman, son of ASF Rahman. The funds were allegedly transferred to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the UK, the USA, Ireland and other countries.
In compliance with the court orders, the CID already seized several properties belonging to the accused. These included 2,000 decimals of land with structures in Dohar, Dhaka; a 6,189.54-square-foot flat in Gulshan, Dhaka; and a 2,713-square-foot triplex flat in Gulshan.
The court also ordered freezing of multiple bank accounts of the accused, and imposed travel bans on them. The CID said the total estimated value of the seized assets stood between Tk six to seven billion (Tk 600 to 700 crore).
talhabinhabib@yahoo.com
