Bangladesh Bank investigating transactions of 150 foreigners

Central bank investigators are looking into ‘questionable’ transactions in Bangladesh banks by expatriates and foreign nationals following requests from different countries through the Egmont Group.

Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has asked for information on at least 150 foreign nationals from the banks in the current year.

“We have bilateral deals with financial intelligence units of different countries,” says Mahfuzur Rahman, deputy head of the BFIU and an executive director with the Bangladesh Bank.

“Moreover, we are a member of the Egmont Group and we exchange information with them regularly. We asked for information on these people from various countries as part of that.”

In a letter sent to the banks on Nov 10, the detectives sought account details of three Bahraini citizens – Isam Yusuf Zahani, Imad Omar Allesnas and Omaima Othman Al-Mahmud – stating their birthplaces and passport numbers.

Another letter, on Nov 5, asked for information on Japanese citizen Shinichi Mitate, also attaching his birth and passport details.

Details of transactions by Ahmed Shahin, Belal Hossain and Ferdous Ahmed - Bangladesh expatriates living in South Africa were sought on Aug 18.

Account details on Kazakhstan business – Jorgen House – was asked for a in a letter in June.

The same letter also asked if the banks had transaction details on Fastin Tourism of UAE, Meridian Jet Management in Austria and NS Group Investment based in Russia.

More information was sought on individuals from Uzbekistan, Israel and Russia.

BFIU officials say the June letter inquired after individuals and organisations suspected to be involved in an international crime ring – ‘Brothers Circle’.

The United States in 2011 identified the gang as a threat to ‘national and international’ security and asked for confiscating all its assets and property.

Washington says the gang, which originated in former Soviet states, had been involved in drug smuggling and financial crimes globally.

The US had sent a letter to Bangladesh Bank late last year requesting bank information of 10 suspected members of the gang.

On similar requests, BFIU sought bank transaction information of 33 Ukrainians on April 3 this year and 21 Argentineans on April 10.

In January this year, the central bank asked for bank details of 42 people from different countries. Of them, 26 were suspects and the rest their wives and children.

Transaction information of several nationals of India, the Philippines and the United Kingdom were also sought from banks this year.

On Dec 29 last year, BFIU asked the banks to send bank details of Bangladeshi-born US citizens Mizanur Rahman and his wife Mimi Rahman.

BFIU official Rahman said they collected and exchanged information of bank transactions of suspects in compliance with international statutes and local law to combat money laundering and terror financing.

He, however, would not say if they found any bank accounts or transactions of the suspects.

BFIU commenced operation in June, 2002 as Anti-Money Laundering Department to prevent money laundering and terror financing. It was renamed BFIU in January, 2012.

The unit became a member of Egmont Group, an international forum of financial intelligence units (FIUs), last year. Currently the group has 140 members.