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Published : 01 Jan 2025, 11:24 PM
A Dhaka court has banned NASSA Group Chairman Nazrul Islam Mazumder, his wife, and children from travelling out of Bangladesh.
In another development, former DMP commissioner Khandker Golam Faruq - and his wife Sharmin Akter Khan have also been barred from leaving the country.
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Jakir Hossain Galib passed the orders following two separate petitions filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission, or ACC, on Wednesday.
ACC Court Inspector Amir Hossain told bdnews24.com that the national anti-graft watchdog’s Deputy Director Md Salahuddin moved the court seeking a ban on their travel.
ACC lawyer Rezaul Karim presented the petition at the hearing.
According to the petition, a four-strong team has been formed to investigate the case, and submit a report on the allegations of “money laundering” and acquisition of “illegal wealth” against NASSA Group’s former chairman and others.
Reports revealed that Mazumder, his wife Nasrin Islam, daughter Anika Islam, and son Walid Ibne Islam were trying to leave the country, and their departure would have hampered the investigation.
After the Awami League government was toppled on Aug 5, 2024 - by a mass uprising, some entrepreneurs in the banking sector, including Awami League leaders, went into hiding.
Mazumder, who was arrested on Oct 1, 2024, was excluded from the board of directors of Exim Bank on Aug 29, 2024 after the interim government came into power. Later, he also lost his position at the Bangladesh Association of Banks, or BAB.
Mazumder’s departure from Exim Bank ended a 17-year leadership tenure.
A well-known figure in the banking sector, Mazumder had been the chairman of the bank since 2007. He was also appointed as the chairman of BAB in 2009.
He has been accused of soliciting donations from private banks for organising a football tournament during his tenure as BAB chairman.
Earlier, on Aug 25, 2024, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, or BFIU, had frozen Mazumder’s and Nasrin’s bank accounts, intensifying scrutiny of his financial dealings.
He is accused of extorting money from banks on several occasions, and changing the Bank Company Act to benefit entrepreneurs of the bank.
TRAVEL BAN ON GOLAM FARUQ
Earlier, the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Jakir Hossain Galib issued a travel ban order following a petition filed by the ACC.
ACC Court Inspector Amir Hossain said the agency’s Assistant Director Rakibul Hayat filed the petition seeking a ban on their travel.
ACC lawyer Mir Ahmed Ali Salam presented the petition at the hearing.
The petition noted that retired additional IGP and former DMP commissioner Faruq is being investigated for allegedly misusing his power, misappropriating government funds through various irregularities and corruption, illegally acquiring assets worth Tk 30 billion in his name and in the name of his family members, and laundering money abroad.
During the investigation, a tip-off revealed that the accused individuals were trying to flee abroad.
Since there is every possibility of the investigation being hampered if they escape the country, it is expedient to bar the foreign visit of the following suspects in the interest of a fair investigation into the complaint, the ACC argued in the plea.
