Salman, Shayan, Shibli face embezzlement charges in IFIC Aamar bond ‘fraud’

Of Tk 10 billion “embezzled”, Tk 2 billion was converted into FDRs while the rest was moved to different accounts of Beximco, says ACC

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is preparing to initiate an embezzlement case against former IFIC Bank chairman Salman F Rahman, his son Shayan F Rahman, former BSEC chairman Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam, and 27 others on charges of “fraud” over IFIC Aamar Bond.

ACC Director General Akhtar Hossain said on Wednesday that the case will be filed by Assistant Director Sajjad Hossain, and it has already been greenlit by the anti-graft agency.

The accused allegedly misappropriated Tk 10 billion from the market.

Real estate company Sreepur Township issued bonds with good dividends in 2023, claiming to raise funds for a large housing project in Gazipur. They raised Tk 10 billion from the market by selling the bonds, called “IFIC Aamar Bond”.

Despite what the name suggests, the bond is not IFIC’s. The bank is simply the guarantor of the bond, though the promotional campaign made it seem that it was issued by the bank.

Deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s advisor and Beximco Group Chairman Salman and Shayan are stakeholders of the company, also shareholders of IFIC bank, raising questions about conflict of interest over issuing the bond.

Although Sreepur Township, established in March 2023, had no previous experience in flat construction or plot management, IFIC chose to be the guarantor of its bond.

In other words, Sreepur Township was given a guarantee to withdraw money using the good reputation of IFIC Bank.

The name of IFIC Bank was written prominently in newspaper promotions, while Sreepur Township was mentioned in small letters, which was a fraud on the investors.

According to ACC findings, the actual value of the land shown as security for the bond was Tk 870 million, but it was shown as Tk 10.2 billion.

Of the money withdrawn from the market, Tk 2 billion was converted into fixed deposits (FDR) and paid to the investors as interest. The remaining Tk 8 billion was transferred to the accounts of different companies owned by Salman, including Beximco Engineering Limited.

According to the ACC, suspicious transactions and cash withdrawals were made from these accounts for “embezzlement and laundering”.

ACC alleges that the accused colluded for offences like "conspiracy, abuse of power, fraud and deceit". They issued bonds on the basis of “overvaluation” without collecting CIB reports and without properly verifying the mortgaged property. Since the money ultimately belonged to the government and the people, it was a “crime punishable under the laws related to “embezzlement and money laundering”.

Apart from the three, the ACC plans to accuse Sreepur Township Managing Director Md Mashiuzzaman, Director Tilat Shahrin, former managing director of IFIC Bank Md Shah Alam Sarwar, and former independent director Sudhangshu Shekhar Biswas, ARM Nazmus Sakib, Quamrun Nahar Ahmed, Rabeya Jamali, Golam Mostofa and Md Zafar Iqbal in the case.

Besides, former Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) commissioner Rumana Islam, Mizanur Rahman, Shaikh Shamsuddin Ahmed and Md Abdul Halim will also be named as accused, according to the ACC.

IFIC Bank's Deputy Managing Director and Chief Credit Officer Syed Mansur Mustafa, Head of Loan Performance Management Shah Md Moinuddin, Chief Business Officer (Retail) Md Rafiqul Islam, Chief Business Officer (Corporate) Gitanka D Datta, Chief of IT Md Nurul Hasnat, Chief Information Officer Monitur Rahman and Head of Treasury Mohammad Sahin Uddin also face charges.

Alongside them, former manager and FVP of the Dhanmondi branch Nazimul Haque, former manager Hossain Shah Ali, Relationships Manager Sardar Mominul Islam, Sandhani Life Insurance Company Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nimai Kumar Saha, Company Secretary Md. Mizanur Rahman, former branch anti-money laundering compliance officers of IFIC Bank Ayesha Siddika and Sylvia Chowdhury face charges as well.

They face charges under Sections 409/420/467/468/471/477(a)/109 of the Penal Code, Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, and Section 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2012.

The ACC said these people had raised Tk 10 billion from these investors in the name of Sreepur Township, which was “freshly registered and under inexperienced ownership”.