The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit on Monday instructed banks to freeze the accounts of Summit Group chairman Muhammad Aziz Khan, his brothers, and other family members.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s Court, on the other hand, on the day issued international travel bans on former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury and Padma Bank former chairman Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat over allegations of corruption.
The court also issued an international travel ban on S Alam Group owner Mohammed Saiful Alam, his wife Farzana Parveen, and 10 members of his family in connection with allegations of laundering money abroad.
The other members of Saiful Alam’s family are his brothers Mohammad Abudullah Hasan, Osman Goni, Abdus Samad, Rashedul Alam, Shahidul Alam, and Morshedul Alam, and S Alam’s sons Ahsanul Alam and Ashraful Alam, Osman’s wife Farzana Begum, and Samad’s wife Shahana Ferdous.
Mohammed Ash-Shams Joglul Hossain passed the orders after the Anti-Corruption Commission had submitted petitions seeking the travel bans.
ACC public prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam and Mahmud Hossain Jahangir moved the petitions before the court on behalf of the ACC.
On August 20, ACC started an inquiry against S Alam Group chairman Mohammad Saiful Alam over allegations of laundering money to Singapore.
According to the allegations, there were allegations against S Alam and his wife Farzana Parveen that they invested and laundered money through offshore banking to Singapore.
S Alam Group owner Saiful Alam has built a business empire in Singapore worth about $1 billion, although there is no record of obtaining any permission from Bangladesh Bank to invest or transfer any funds abroad.
The central bank has so far allowed 17 companies to invest outside the country, but the business giant is not on that list.
The court also issued an international travel ban on Padma Bank’s former chairman Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat over allegations of corruption.
The court passed the order after ACC deputy director Masudur Rahman submitted a petition seeking the travel ban.
On August 15, ACC started an inquiry against Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat over embezzlement of around Tk 800 crore from the bank and share market.
ACC officials said that there were allegations that Nafeez Sarafat took away around Tk 800 crore from Padma Bank and Share Market in various ways through corruption and irregularities.
Nafeez resigned as the chairman of Padma Bank in January this year, citing health reasons after more than six years in the position.
Meanwhile, the court on Monday also issued an international travel ban on former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury following an ACC petition.
On August 18, the commission decided to run an inquiry against Saifuzzaman Chowdhury over allegations of laundering money in the United Kingdom and amassing illegal wealth.
According to allegations, the minister and his wife have joint ownership of six companies abroad that include real estate businesses, and the property valued at Tk 2,000 crore.
Meanwhile, the BFIU on Monday instructed banks to freeze the accounts of Summit Group chairman Muhammad Aziz Khan, his brothers, and other family members.
The BFIU of the central bank, in a letter, asked banks to block transactions for 30 days under the provisions of the Money Laundering Prevention Act.
Earlier, it collected account information on Aziz Khan and his family members. Aziz Khan is among the influential top 50 businessmen in Singapore.
Earlier, BFIU on Sunday froze the bank accounts of Bashundhara Group chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan and seven of his family members over the allegation of amassing a huge amount of illegal wealth.
The banks were asked to freeze bank accounts in the name of the group chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, his four sons, Sadat Sobhan, Shafiat Sobhan, Sayem Sobhan Anvir, and Safwan Sobhan, along with three daughters-in-law, Sonia Ferdousi Sobhan, Sabrina Sobhan, and Yasha Sobhan.
A number of inquiries were initiated by BFIU and ACC against dozens of business people over allegations of corruption and money laundering after Sheikh Hasina had resigned as prime minister and fled to India on August 5 amid a student-led mass uprising.
New Age
