SHARIFUL ISLAM

Ten businessmen and shop owners, and a Saudi expatriate laundered over Tk 46.02 crore abroad through a Chattogram-based bKash distribution house, mostly to pay for various goods they imported illegally, finds a CID investigation.

The accused businessmen used to import different goods and paid for them by laundering money through a bKash distribution house -- Al Quader and Company, as mentioned in a case filed with Kotwali Police Station in Chattogram by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Wednesday.

CID Inspector KM Rakibul Huda of the Financial Crime Unit filed the case against the businessmen, the Saudi expatriate, the proprietor of the distribution house and a staffer after he found evidence of money laundering during the primary investigation.

The accused are -- Khandaker Ashfaq Hossain Qaderi, proprietor of the bKash distributor house; his employee Sushanta Nath; Jalal Hossain; Abdullah Al Noman, steal sheet importer; Shimul Uddin, memory card trader; Atiqur Rahman and Rashedul Haque alias Russel, both owners of two mobile phone stores at Bashundhara City Shopping Complex in Dhaka; Md Sajib, mobile phone, iPad and MacBook trader; businessmen Shikder Bani Amin; Merajul Islam; Kamrul Hasan Majumder; Abu Khayer Nayan, hardware and tools importer from Dhaka’s Nababganj; Harun, a Saudi expatriate; and distribution house Al Quader and Company.

The CID inspector also found evidence of money laundering against Ibrahim, owner of Ibrahim Trading. However, he was not made accused in the case as he already passed away.

In the case statement, the IO said analysing the transactions of Al Quader and Company’s seven accounts with scheduled banks, it was found that between February 10, 2019, and September 14 last year, Tk 1,083 crore was deposited and withdrawn.

“The money was supposed to be deposited through an e-money transaction between the bKash distribution company and its agents. Al Quader and Company’s jurisdiction area was Chattogram’s Chawkbazar and Kotwali police station areas. However, it was found that the money was deposited by different individuals and institutions from different parts of the country,” read the case statement.

The case statement said the accused Abdullah Al Noman reported a lower price for his imported steel sheets in the LC compared to the price at which he sells them in the local market.