SK Sur shown arrested in Hallmark case, Tk4.75cr assets seized from his BB locker

A Dhaka court has showed former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank Sitanshu Kumar Sur, better known as SK Sur, arrested in a money laundering case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) against Hallmark Group.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Partha Bhadra passed the order after police produced Sur before the court, with a plea by the investigating officer, CID Financial Crime Unit Inspector Sayedur Rahman to show him arrested as a suspect in the case, reports BSS.

Sur was detained by the ACC with the help of the Detective Branch (DB) of police from Dhaka's Segunbagicha area on 14 January.

The case was filed by the ACC on 26 December 2018, against Hallmark Group employees Tusher Ahmed, Mohammad Aslam Uddin and Sumon Bhuiyan for making suspicious transactions of Tk13.50 crore, allegedly amassed illegally, transferring the money to conceal its source.

Meanwhile, the ACC recovered assets worth around Tk5 crore from a locker belonging to SK Sur at the Bangladesh Bank during a search upon court's approval around 11am on Sunday.

The locker held one kilogram of gold, and foreign currencies amounting to $169,300 and €55,000, as well as FDR worth Tk70 lakh, said ACC Director Kazi Sayemuzzaman. 

He led a seven-member team of the commission as part of a drive at the central bank headquarters, where SK Sur's locker was found holding assets totalling Tk4.75 crore.

The ACC director said they had information regarding SK Sur's undisclosed assets, and a notice was issued for him to submit a wealth statement. However, he did not comply. 

He said a 22-page inventory of the seized items has been prepared to submit to the court.

"The assets found are now under the custody of the Bangladesh Bank. We will follow whatever further instructions the court provides.

"A subsequent investigation will determine whether these assets are from legal sources," added the ACC director. 

Bangladesh Bank's Executive Director Amjad Hossain Khan said, "Following the court order, the ACC conducted the search at the locker according to the central bank's procedures."

He said the recovered assets will be temporarily deposited in the government treasury, or the court will decide the next course of action.  

During the drive, Executive Magistrate Syeda Saleha Nur was also present.  

Earlier, on 19 January, the ACC recovered documents of Tk16.25 lakh and fixed deposits worth Tk4.5 crore from SK Sur's Dhanmondi house.

On 23 January, in response to a letter from the ACC, the central bank informed the agency that SK Sur had kept valuables in three lockers at the bank. As per rules, personal valuables of retired or working employees are kept in Bangladesh Bank's lockers, in packets or boxes in their names, sealed for 20 years from the date of the deposit.  

SK Sur retired as the deputy governor of the central bank in January 2018.