
The Criminal Investigation Department said that the agency has launched investigations against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s private industry and investment adviser Salman F Rahman and Padma Bank’s former chairman Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat for money laundering.
CID’s Financial Crime Unit in its primary review found that the Beximco Group, its peoples concerned and organisations had laundered huge sum of money to foreign countries after taking loan through forgery from seven banks in the past 15 years, said a CID press release issued on Sunday.
According to CID, Beximco Group had taken loan of Tk 33,470 crore, including Tk 21,681 crore from Janata Bank, Tk 5,218 crore from IFIC Bank, Tk 295 crore from National Bank, Tk 5,671 crore from Sonali Bank, Agrani Bank and Rupali Bank, and Tk 605 crore from AB Bank.
Apart from taking loans from banks through forgery, CID found allegations that Beximco Group also siphoned off Tk 27,000 crore from the capital market through forgery and cheating.
Beximco Group had established joint venture Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and most of the money were taken from Bangladesh through laundering using over invoice, under invoice and hundi.
Salman was arrested from Sadarghat area of the capital while fleeing by boat on August 13 and now is remanded under police custody.
On August 22, Anti-Corruption Commission decided to launch an inquiry against Salman F Rahman following the allegations of different irregularities, corruption and embezzlement in the country’s banking sector.
According to another press release of CID, the agency has launched an investigation against Padma Bank’s former chairman Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat, peoples concerned and his organisations.
But, CID did not reveal any details about Nafeez Sarafat.
On August 15, the ACC started an inquiry against Padma Bank former chairman Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat over embezzlement of around Tk 800 crore from the bank and share market.