ACC approves 3 cases against ex-land minister Saifuzzaman over Tk141cr loan fraud
The cases involve 27 loan deals, through which Tk141.30 crore was allegedly withdrawn from the Jubilee Road branch of Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC in Chattogram.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has approved three separate cases against former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury and 28 others over the alleged embezzlement of Tk141.30 crore from different banks through fake invoices and sham purchases in the names of Aramit Cement PLC and Imperial Trading.
According to ACC documents, the cases involve 27 loan deals, through which Tk141.30 crore was allegedly withdrawn from the Jubilee Road branch of Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC in Chattogram.
The funds were subsequently transferred, converted, and siphoned abroad, including to the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
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The anti-graft body's findings revealed that no actual purchase or sale of cement's raw materials took place, with fake suppliers and fraudulent bills used to obtain the money.
The three cases involve the laundering Tk57.60 crore, Tk41.625 crore, and Tk42.075 crore, respectively.
In the first case, the ACC alleged that Tk57.60 crore was embezzled through a single deal on 20 March 2018 in the name of Imperial Trading, a customer of the Agrabad branch of First Security Islami Bank PLC.
The second case concerns 17 deals executed between 4 April 2018 and 26 December 2019, involving Tk41.625 crore through Imperial Trading's account at the Kamal Bazar branch of United Commercial Bank PLC (UCB).
The third case involves nine deals between 6 August 2020 and 28 March 2021 through Imperial Trading's account at UCB's Sadarghat branch in Chattogram. Out of Tk46.75 crore involved in these specific deals, Tk4.675 crore represented customer equity, while Tk42.075 crore was allegedly embezzled.
ACC investigations revealed that Aramit Cement applied for bank financing from Islami Bank's Jubilee Road branch to purchase raw materials.
Fake borrowers
Employees of Aramit Group were presented as proprietors of supplier companies, such as Imperial Trading, despite having no genuine supply transactions with the cement company itself.
Loans were approved against these purported purchases, and the funds were transferred between bank accounts before being withdrawn in cash, used to settle previous liabilities, and laundered abroad.
The ACC alleged that money transferred to the UAE was used to acquire assets there and was subsequently moved to the UK and the US to purchase additional properties.
The commission further alleged that Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, owner of Aramit Group and the then land minister, used his influence to facilitate the approval of loans from Islami Bank.
The corruption commission identified Saifuzzaman Chowdhury as the ultimate beneficiary of the transactions.
A total of 28 other individuals have been named in the allegations, including Saifuzzaman's wife Rukmila Zaman, managing director of Aramit Cement and former chairman of UCB, and Mohammad Shah Alam, chief financial officer of Aramit Cement and former UCB director.
Additionally, Abdul Aziz, proprietor of Imperial Trading and an assistant general manager (AGM) at Aramit, was named.
The ACC alleged that despite being an Aramit employee, he was presented as an external supplier to facilitate the transactions.
AKM Maruf, another AGM at Aramit Cement, was accused of helping secure deals based on false applications.
The bank officials
The three cases also implicate current and former officials of Islami Bank's Jubilee Road branch, UCB's Kamal Bazar branch, and First Security Islami Bank's Agrabad branch.
Several officials of Islami Bank's Jubilee Road branch have also been named as accused. They include Md Zakir Hossain, Mohammad Abdul Haque, Muhammad Tanvir Hasan, Md Abdul Qader, Md Mizanur Rahman Bhuiyan, Muhammad Abdul Karim, Mohammad Akhtar Hossain, Mohammad Jamal Uddin, Muhammad Nizam Uddin, Md Ashraf Uddin, Mohammad Rashid Sadat, Aktarul Azim, Md Mohiuddin, Mohammad Khorshed Alam, Md Shahidullah, Mohammad Harun Al Rashid, Mohammad Mohsin Ali, Abul Kalam Azad and Sheikh Moniruzzaman.
The ACC also named Md Rubel Uddin, K A A M Yasir and Md Wahiduzzaman Chowdhury of United Commercial Bank's Kamal Bazar branch, as well as Md Emdadul Hasan and Khorshed Alam of the First Security Islami Bank's Agrabad branch, as accused.
According to the ACC, the concerned bank officials signed office notes, purchase orders, issuance instructions and other documents despite there being no supply of goods against the documents, thereby allegedly assisting the embezzlement.
The ACC alleged that bank officials approved deals, signed office notes and payment orders, and issued instructions despite the absence of actual supplies, while failing to properly trace the movement of funds after disbursement.
Series of corruption
These latest cases add to a series of corruption and money laundering allegations against Saifuzzaman, who served as the land minister in fallen Awami League government.
The anti-graft commission previously filed cases against him over alleged loan fraud and money laundering involving UCB.
In March this year, the commission initiated proceedings for three additional cases over the alleged embezzlement of Tk141.30 crore through loans taken in the name of Aramit Cement PLC and transferred to shell suppliers.
Aramit Cement has also faced financial pressure, with Islami Bank previously moving to auction mortgaged assets of the company to recover defaulted loans totaling Tk588.93 crore.
The allegations in the newly approved cases remain subject to ongoing investigation and judicial proceedings.
