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Published : 05 Sep 2024, 08:52 PM
The Criminal Investigation Department, or CID, has decided to investigate allegations against Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, Managing Director Sayem Sobhan Anvir and other stakeholders, involving illegally occupying land worth Tk 1.5 trillion and money laundering.
The decision was announced in a press release on Thursday.
The CID said it had received complaints of fraud, forgery, customs and value-added tax evasion, under-invoicing, and over-invoicing by entities connected to Bashundhara Group, the country's largest real estate company, resulting in the misappropriation and laundering of thousands of millions of taka.
According to the CID, some parts of the proposed land for the Bashundhara Residential Project were approved by the capital development authority Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha, or RAJUK, while the majority lacked such approval.
"The project has been implemented by filling up public and government canals, wetlands, rivers, government-owned land, fallow land, cemeteries, and memorial grounds, using power and money," the statement read.
The CID also alleged that the group resorted to various forms of fraud and forgery to take over land.
"The group is accused of illegally occupying over 411 hectares, including about 324 hectares of government land, canals, and rivers within the Bashundhara Residential Area and over 87 hectares of the Bhawal Raj Estate," it said.
The CID report mentioned complaints of large-scale land occupation by East West Property Limited in various blocks of the Bashundhara Residential Area, estimating the total value of these properties at over Tk 1.5 trillion.
The press release also mentioned allegations of illegal land occupation and filling for the Bashundhara Riverview project without RAJUK approval, followed by selling plots to various professionals through advance payments and instalments.
MONEY LAUNDERING ALLEGATIONS
CID alleged that Bashundhara Group had taken loans exceeding Tk 420 billion from many scheduled banks by showing land purchases at Tk 30 million per Katha while actually purchasing it at Tk 2-2.5 million per Bigha, often using fraudulent and deceptive practices without sufficient collateral.
The statement further noted that most of this money was laundered to countries including Dubai, Singapore, Cyprus, London, and Malaysia.
The release also pointed out that Shah Alam's eldest son, Sadat Sobhan Tanvir, is in charge of Bashundhara Group’s Singapore office.
Despite obtaining thousands of millions in loans for many projects, there are allegations that these loans have not been repaid.
CID said Bashundhara Oil and Gas (Keraniganj, Dhaka) was involved in trade-based money laundering by importing bitumen worth Tk 20 billion from abroad.
"The imported bitumen is controlled by a powerful syndicate, which manipulates prices and monopolises its supply across Bangladesh," it added.
GOLD SMUGGLING SYNDICATE
The press release identified Bashundhara Group Managing Director Anvir as a "key player in a gold smuggling syndicate."
It said this syndicate has, at times, created artificial crises in the country, often destabilising the gold market.
