ACC, NBR, CID teams to probe 10 corporate giants

A government taskforce will investigate the country's 10 major business groups' alleged money laundering and other misdeeds.
For the probe, 10 separate inter-agency teams will be formed within this week and necessary directives have already been issued to the offices concerned, officials said.
The teams will comprise members of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the Criminal Investigation Department of Police (CID), they said.
The move comes as the interim government intensifies its efforts to recover money allegedly laundered by the corporate giants that thrived under the Awami League rule.
A government-commissioned white paper committee on the economy estimated that $234 billion was siphoned off from Bangladesh between 2009 and 2023.
The 10 business groups are: S Alam Group, Beximco Group, Summit Group, Bashundhara Group, Gemcon Group, Orion Group, Nabil Group, Nassa Group, Sikder Group, and Aramit Group.
Last month, the government formed an 11-member taskforce to recover laundered money. Money laundering is considered a major reason behind the country's financial troubles.
The taskforce, led by Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur, has already held two meetings, said ACC and NBR sources.
They said the taskforce selected the 10 major businesses for allegedly laundering money, dodging taxes and investing money abroad without approval. Other businesses involved in such crimes will also be investigated in phases, they said.
The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), which is providing secretariat service to the taskforce, has written to the ACC, NBR and CID, asking them to form separate teams to probe the 10 groups, the sources said.
"The teams are expected to be formed within this week," said an NBR official wishing anonymity.
According to the letters, the investigation teams will also get necessary assistance from the Office of the Attorney General. The teams will have to regularly provide reports to the taskforce and the BFIU about the progress of the probes.
Many of these 10 groups are also facing separate investigations by the ACC over alleged corruption, sources of the anti-graft body said.
Moreover, the government in October blocked the transfer of shares of Bashundhara Group, Orion Group, Summit Group, Beximco Group, S Alam Group and Nassa Group.
The NBR on October 2 directed the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies & Firms (RJSC) to immediately freeze any sales or transfers of shares by these companies.
As per the white paper committee's report, the laundered money was sent to or routed primarily through the UAE, the UK, Canada, the US, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and India, as well some tax havens.
The report read, "Illicit financial outflows constituted a complex web of shadow economy that thrived on criminal activities of diverse nature and drew sustenance from an unholy alliance of sections of corrupt politicians, businessmen, financial players, middlemen, government officials, influence peddlers and wheeler-dealers of different types.
"These people worked in connivance with and corrupted the country's executive, legislative, financial, legal and other institutions; undermined domestic investment and revenue mobilisation efforts; depleted forex reserves; weakened the country's macroeconomic management; and seriously damaged the cause of good governance in all spheres."
The laundered money was used for buying real estate or was funnelled through "anonymous" business operations, said the 30-chapter and 400-page-long report submitted early this month.
After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5, BFIU froze banks accounts of 550 individuals and companies, which had a total of Tk 14,500 crore, the unit's sources said.
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