ICIJ names AL leader Zafarullah, wife, over 50 other Bangladeshis in Panama Papers, Offshore Leaks

The names of more than 50 Bangladeshis, including ruling Awami League leader Kazi Zafarullah and his wife Nilufer Zafarullah, have appeared in the Panama Papers and Offshore Leaks investigations.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published the searchable database on Monday, stripping away the secrecy of nearly 214,000 offshore entities created in 21 jurisdictions.

The data are a part of previously leaked Offshore Leaks, and the Panama Papers - the documents leaked from the law firm Mossack Fonseca, one of the world’s top creators of hard-to-trace companies, trusts and foundations.

The ICIJ said in a statement, "There are legitimate uses for offshore companies and trusts. We do not intend to suggest or imply that any persons, companies or other entities included in the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database have broken the law or otherwise acted improperly."

"Many people and entities have the same or similar names.

"We suggest you confirm the identities of any individuals or entities located in the database, based on addresses or other identifiable information.

The Panama Papers have already shaken the world with the names of global leaders and celebrities in them.

In the Bangladesh section of the documents published on Monday, Zafarullah and wife Nilufer have been named as shareholders of Pathfinder Finance Limited and Hanseatic Limited in the British Virginia Islands.

Mobile-phone operator Citycell CEO Mehboob Chowdhury, who had once worked for Grameenphone, has been named.

IGW operator Cel Telecom CEO and former GP and Citycell executive Kafil HS Muyeed, broadband company AccessTEL owner Zain Omar and wireless internet provider Qubee's owner Afzalur Rahman have also been named.

The names of Bangla Trac owner Aminul Haque, and his sons Nazim Asadul Haque and Tarique Ekramul Haque have appeared in the leaked data.

So has that of former foreign minister M Morshed Khan's brother-in-law Azmat Moyeen.

bdnews24.com is yet to identify the other Bangladeshis named in the database.

Some of them are Sarkar Jiban Kumar, Dilip Kumar Modi, Mullick Sudhir, Kazi Raihan Zafar, Md Yusuf Raihan Reza, Mahtabuddin Chowdhury, Benzir Ahmed, and Ishraq Ahmed.

The women in the leaks are Novera Chowdhury, Syeda Samina Mirza, Ummeh Rubana, Bilkis Fatima Jesmin, and Salma Haque.

The others include Farhad Gani Mohammed, Md Abul Bashar, Nizam M Selim, Mohammad Moksedul Islam, Md Motazzaroul Islam, M Selimuzzaman, Syed Serajul Huq, FM Zubaidul Haque, Capt MA Jaul, Mohammad Shahed Masud, Khawza Sahadat Ullah, Mohammed Faisal Karim Khan, Zulfiquar Hyder, Mirza M Eyahia, Nazrul Islam, Mohammad Jahidul Islam, Jafer Ummeed Khan, and AFM Rahamatul Bari.

[In a rejoinder, Technomedia Limited Managing Director Jashoda Jibon Debnath says Sarkar Jiban Kumar is not the owner of the company as mentioned in this news item earlier.]

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