Premier Bank handed Tk1.5cr BFIU fine over withdrawal from Iqbal’s frozen account

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has handed a fine of approximately Tk1.5 crore to Premier Bank for allegedly withdrawing money from the account of its former chairman, HBM Iqbal, previously frozen by the BFIU.

At the same time, the anti-money laundering intelligence also ordered punitive measures against the bank's Additional Managing Director and Chief Anti Money Laundering Compliance Officer Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Senior Vice President Md Saiful Islam, in this connection.

According to a letter issued from the BFIU to the Premier Bank managing director, the fine is Tk1.11 crore and $30,000 (equivalent to local currency).

As such, the total fine stands at Tk1.47 crore.

The withdrawal was in violation of a BFIU order, states the letter.

"The bank was fined recently for opening [unfreezing] a frozen account. However, the fine is equivalent to the sum of money withdrawn from the account," sources from the BFIU told The Business Standard.

Premier Bank's MD and CEO Mohammad Abu Jafar and AMD and CAMLCO Shamsuddin Chowdhury both did not respond to TBS' request for comment on the matter.

Earlier, in November last year, the BFIU froze the bank accounts of HBM Iqbal, his wife Anjuman Ara Shilpi, their two sons Moinuddin Iqbal and Ikram Iqbal, and daughter Naureen Iqbal, and their companies. Moin and Ikram are directors of Premier Bank. 

HBM Iqbal, chairman of Premier Group, is also a former Awami League lawmaker for Dhaka-10. The group has various businesses, including five-star hotels, restaurants, cement production, medical centres, etc.

Iqbal has also established several educational institutions in the country.

He has served as Premier Bank's chairman since 2011 through the alleged abuse of power and has been under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).