Nassa Group Chairman Mazumder sued for Tk781cr illegal wealth

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has sued NASSA Group Chairman Nazrul Islam Mazumder on charges of illegally acquiring wealth worth more than Tk 781.31 crore.  

The charges have been brought under Section 27(1) of the ACC Act 2004 and Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947, said Md Akhtar Hossain, director general at the anti-graft watchdog, today (16 February).  

Mohammad Shahjahan Miraj, an assistant director of the anti-graft watchdog, filed the case at the ACC's Integrated District Office, Dhaka-1.  

Nazrul, also a former chairman of the Bangladesh Association of Banks, a forum of private bank owners, was arrested on 1 October last year. Police said he was accused in multiple cases at the time.  

Nazrul, who founded NASSA Group in 1990, led the BAB for nearly 17 years under the Awami League-led regime since 2008. He is also the former chairman of EXIM Bank.  

Following the ouster of the government in early August in a student-led mass uprising, the Bangladesh Bank removed him and his wife Nasreen Islam from the board of the private lender on 29 August.  

On 25 August, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit ordered all banks to freeze the accounts of Nazrul and his wife.  

After his arrest, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) launched an investigation against Nazrul on allegations of laundering nearly $3 million, or around Tk35 crore, to the United States under the pretext of export.  

Nazrul is accused of committing the said crime through trade-based money laundering using Firoza Garments, a concern of NASSA Group, according to a media statement issued by the CID on 2 October.  

The statement said Firoza Garments exported goods to the US under 130 LCs/sales contracts opened with National Bank between March 2020 and 2024.  

However, a preliminary CID investigation has revealed that the company did not repatriate $3 million in export proceeds for the goods within the stipulated time, and the money was laundered to the US.  

Additionally, the CID has received allegations that Nazrul's daughter, Anika Islam, purchased houses in London's Phillimore Gardens and Brunswick Gardens using the laundered money.  

Nazrul is also accused of embezzling hundreds of crores of taka through duty evasion by bringing in duty-free raw materials from abroad under the bond facility in the name of various NASSA Group entities and selling those goods in the domestic open market, said the CID.  

Furthermore, using his influence, he secured a loan of approximately Tk21,000 crore in favour of four organisations related to NASSA Group under the pretext of import and export. 

He then allegedly laundered hundreds of crores of taka to Dubai, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Singapore, and Canada through invoicing and over-invoicing.  

A separate investigation into these charges is also underway by the financial crimes wing of the CID.