NBR seeks accounts info of 24 including Saifur's son, Kamal's daughter

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Doulot Akter Mala
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) Thursday sought the details of bank accounts of 24 persons including immediate past Finance Minister Saifur Rahman's son Shafiur Rahman Babu and his wife Shimab Yousuf Rahman.
Shimab is also daughter of former flood and disaster management minister Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yousuf.
The Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) of the board issued letters Thursday asking all the scheduled banks to furnish the necessary information of those bank accounts within seven days, banking sources said.
The CIC, in the letter, asked the banks to provide the details of their bank accounts, fixed and long term deposits, bonds, shares and saving tools information.
The NBR sought details of bank accounts of AL lawmaker Kazi Jafrullah, his wife Nilufer Jafrullah, his two sons Kazi Raihan Jafar and Kazi Omar Jafar and daughter Anushka Mehrin Jafar.
The board also sought details of bank accounts of Mohammad Abdul Matin, APS-2 (assistant private secretary) of immediate past Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, and 16 members of his family.
The members of the family include Matin's father Md Moktar Ali, mother Phulbar Nesa, wife Shahida Khanom, son Sakib Matin, daughter Samiha Matin, brothers Abdul Batin, Abul Hossain, Md Shahjahan, Md Mahbubul Alam Khan and sisters Anwara Begum and Monwara Begum.
The CIC also sought details of bank accounts of five other family members of Matin -- including his mother-in-law Rawshon Ara Begum, brothers-in-law ATM Hayetuzzaman Khan and AKM Nurul Huq Khan and sisters-in-law Jaheda Wahed and Anwara Iskander.
Banks will have to inform in written statements if there is no bank accounts on such names.
In its letter, the CIC said, if the banks failed to provide necessary information without any valid reason, the NBR will penalise them Tk 25,000 at a time and Tk 500 of each day under 124 (2).
Partially changed names (self and father, husband/wife) of those persons will come under the jurisdiction of the terms of the letter.
The CIC of the NBR so far searched 400 bank accounts and frozen about 140 bank accounts.
A large number of the searched and frozen bank accounts belong to the relatives of the suspected individuals, which has created a panic among the persons close to them, sources said.
"Details of the bank accounts of only the suspected individuals and their close family members should be sought if the NBR wants to verify the details thereof with their income tax files", a person affected by the move told the FE.