Tycoons open trust fund, then siphon off funds

Tycoons first opened trust fund and then siphoned off funds to tax-haven island nations before transferring to developed countries for finally settling in the chosen destinations, financial intelligence has found out.
This is a common pattern of asset accumulation and laundering by big guns during the long reign of the past autocratic government, toppled in the August-5th uprising, according to the findings reported by Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) in a geared-up recovery hunt.
Officials concerned have said this common pattern was followed in laundering "significant amounts" of money by 11 big-name individuals and businesses linked to the deposed Sheikh Hasina regime.
According to the discoveries of tracks, funds were used to establish trust fund and then transferred from Bangladesh to overseas tax havens--particularly island nations. And subsequently the funds were parked into developed countries such as the UK, the USA, and Singapore, says a senior BFIU official, on condition of anonymity.
He said all the 11 suspects under investigation possess "significant undisclosed assets" abroad but none shown in their tax files in Bangladesh.
"Last week, we submitted the last one, on Summit Group, out of 11 intelligence reports," he added, declining to give details.
Officials of the BFIU and the National Board of Revenue (NBR) say tax recovery emerged as a crucial tool in asset recovery as existing tax laws allow authorities to claim the equivalent market value of undisclosed overseas assets.
Alongside the 11 priority cases, the government has decided to investigate around 200 more individuals and businesses, mostly ex- MPs of the ousted Awami League regime, in its drive to recover stolen assets.
The alleged launderers who are under suspicion of the government on laundering Tk 2.0 billion to Tk 5.0 billion from Bangladesh would be brought to book too in the probe process.
During a recent visit to the United Kingdom, Bangladesh Bank governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur sought political support and proposed that the UK government impose sanctions on both large-and mid-scale money launderers.
Talking to the FE earlier, Dr Mansur had said the government would not spare the midsize launderers in an effort to recover as much asset as it can.
"Bangladesh will appoint a private law firm for civil suit for middle- ranged launderers while launch criminal proceedings over tycoons' illicit money transfers," said the governor.
Already, investigations against 11 large business-group owners are going great guns under the joint investigation taskforce comprising BFIU, ACC, NBR and CID officials.
Officials involved in the efforts have said there has been a significant progress in asset recovery following the unveiling of a roadmap at a meeting of the council of advisers recently.
The roadmap is aimed at bringing back an estimated amount between $75 billion and $100 billion--from spotted destinations in the US, the UK, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Cayman Islands.
At the council-of-advisers meeting Chief Adviser of the interim government Prof Mohammed Yunus called for expediting efforts to bring back billions in stolen money -- both from the banking system and by other means.
The central bank governor's visit to the UK has been pivotal in placing requests for sanctions on property sales and travel bans for individuals implicated in money laundering.
Asset recovery is a time-consuming process, often taking three to five years, and needs a rigorous exercise with the help of international litigation agencies.
Monthly taskforce meetings will be held under the roadmap, with updates provided to the head of post-uprising government.
Efforts to secure collaboration from the governments of Singapore and Malaysia are underway, as their cooperation is crucial in tracking siphoned-off assets.
A pre-negotiation strategy is being explored for individuals willing to voluntarily repatriate a significant portion of their siphoned-off funds. The Dr Yunus-led interim government has targeted 11 business groups' cases initially to bring back smuggled-out assets, the sources said.
The top-listed cases are against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her family members, Aramit Group owned by former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, S. Alam Group tycoon S. Alam, Nasa Group's Nazrul Islam Mazumder, Bashundhara group owner Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, Summit Group owner and Forbes billionaire Aziz Khan, former private- sector adviser to the Hasina Government and Beximco owner Salman F Rahman, Gemcon Group, Sikder Group, Nabil Group and Orion Group.
The recently released White Paper on Bangladesh economy reveals an approximate $16 billion annual illicit transfer abroad in the 15-year Sheikh Hasina regime. Also, Dr Ahsan H Mansur earlier estimated $17 billion siphoned off through the banking system.
As the roadmap says, the interim government would finalize the draft terms of reference (ToR) for international law firms this month.
April-June 2025 (quarter 2) period would be spent for hiring law firms, exerting push for freezing Bangladeshi stolen assets abroad and launching settlement process of asset recovery.
In Q3, Bangladesh would start international criminal and civil cases, find litigation funders to engage law firms and investigations.
In the last quarter (October-December), Bangladesh targets to achieve settlements in at least 50 per cent of the 11 priority cases, freeze assets of entire 11 business groups and establish an asset-recovery agency.
Bangladesh has instances on the sending back of UK's stolen assets in 2010 and 2015 upon request from the UK government.
The investigators also cite the instance of having repatriated assets worth Tk 230 million of former premier Khaleda Zia's son Koko in 2007 from Singapore.

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