CIID summons Apan Jewellers, Raintree hotel owners

The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Division (CIID) has issued summons for the owner of Apan Jewellers to verify the source of his stock of gold and jewellery and the owners of Raintree hotel over the illegal possession of alcohol.

They will have to appear with the necessary documents at CIID headquarters at 11 am on May 17, said the directorate’s Director General Monirul Khan.

The sole owner of Apan Jewellers, Dildar Ahmed, has been in the news since his son Safat Ahmed was declared the prime suspect in a rape case involving two university students. The CIID is investigating the family after the National Board of Revenue (NBR) ordered a probe into allegations of gold smuggling.

As part of this investigation the CIID raided five Apan Jewellers showrooms in Dhaka on Sunday and confiscated 286 kg of gold and 61 grams of diamonds.

The seizure is part of the CIID’s attempts to verify the source of the gold and jewellery and to investigate if any ‘illegal wealth’ was owned by the Apan Jewellers proprietor, said Moinul Khan.

The documents produced by Dildar Ahmed will be scrutinised for inconsistencies and the owner will be charged for smuggling and money laundering if any proof is found, the CIID chief added.

CIID officials had also conducted a simultaneous raid on Raintree hotel and confiscated documents and 10 bottles of foreign alcohol. The alcohol had been kept in the hotel despite its not having a bar license, said the CIID.

CIID also alleged that the hotel administration had failed to pay Tk 815,000 in VAT despite registering for it under the NBR.

CIID will file a case against the hotel administration on charges of VAT evasion, duty evasion and money laundering, said CIID Joint Director Shafiur Rahman.