Forex worth Tk 1.0b exchanged daily, mostly laundered: ACC

Foreign currencies worth about Tk 1.0 billion are exchanged in underhand dealings at Dhaka's airport daily and mostly laundered, says the ACC after suing 21 suspects.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) detected the forex flight from airport as a major factor that is "intensifying dollar crisis" in Bangladesh.
Its revelation on dollar-syndicate busting comes at a time when the country's foreign-exchange reserves have been on a slide with its domino effect on the economy, especially squeezing import and fuelling prices.
The ACC filed a case against 21 persons, 19 of them bank officials, on charge of illegal transactions in foreign currencies at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA).
Nine Janata Bank, eight Sonali Bank, one each Agrani Bank and Mutual Trust Bank officials and two exchange houses' officials have been accused in the case.
Syed Nazrul Islam, Deputy Director of the ACC, filed the case Wednesday with its Integrated District Office in Dhaka-1 zone.
On the suspect list from Janata Bank are its Local Office's Senior Officer Md Suruz Jamal and Principal Officers Shamim Ahmed and Md Ashiquzzaman, Senior Officer Amit Chandra De, Khilgaon Road Branch's Senior Officer Md Manik Mia, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) Booth's Senior Officers Sadik Iqbal and Md Sujon Ali, HSIA Booth-in-Charge and Principal Officer Anwar Pervez and HSIA Booth Senior Officer Md Humayun Kabir.
Also implicated in the case are Sonali Bank's HSIA Booth's Senior Officer Md Shariful Islam Bhuiyan, Rajendrapur Cantonment Branch's Senior Officer Md Sohrab Uddin Khan, Senior Officer Mohammad Sobuz Mir, HSIA Branch's Senior Officer Khan Asiqur Rahman, Senior Officer ABM Sazzad Haider, Senior Officer Md Kamrul Islam, Officer Samiul Islam Khan and HSIA Branch's supporting staff Md Mosharraf Hossain.
Agrani Bank's HSIA Booth's Senior Officer Md Abdur Razzak, Mutual Trust Bank's HSIA Booth's Officer Md Abu Tareq Prodhan, Avia Money Changer's Customer Service Manager Md Asadul Hossain, and Imperial Money Exchange Company Limited's Director K M Kabir Ahmed are also among those sued by name.
"The accused have committed offenses under Section 3(3) and 23(1) of The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 1947, under Section 5(2) of The Prevention of Corruption Act 1947, and under Section 4(2) of The Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012," reads the case statement.
The case has been instituted following a preliminary inquiry held by an enforcement team of the Anti-Corruption Commission in February.
The case statement also says, "Bank officials use bank funds to buy foreign currency without vouchers from expatriates at or below the rate set by the bank and sell to the money-exchange agencies Avia Money Changer and Imperial Money Exchange, located at the airport, for a profit.
"After the sale, they reconciled the bank funds from the money received and kept the dividend in their own pocket."
Allegations have it that every day thousands of migrant workers and travelers from abroad come to Bangladesh through the airport. The foreign currency they bring with them is encashed in local currency (Bangladeshi Taka) at bank booths and money exchanges at the airport.
Foreign-currency encashment vouchers are to be paid to the encasher as per laws, rules and regulations. "But these officials of banks and money exchangers accepted foreign currency directly without giving vouchers or with fake vouchers and gave money in exchange."
The anti-graft watchdog's inquiry suggests foreign currency worth approximately Tk 1.0 billion is being transacted every day outside the banking channel.
"Most of the transacted money is being laundered abroad in different channels and such activities are intensifying the ongoing dollar crisis in the country," says the inquiry report on the so-called dollar syndicate.
The report also reveals that Avia Money Changer' head, Saidul Hossain, and his brother Asadul Hossain allegedly controlled the syndicate of illegal trading in foreign currencies at Bangladesh's main gateway-the airport in the capital.

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