Money laundering cases: 21 former AB Bank officials surrender before court

Twenty-one officials, including the former chairman of AB Bank Ltd, surrendered before a Dhaka court today seeking bail in three cases filed over laundering Tk 236 crore through offshore banking to Dubai, USA and Singapore.

The accused are: former AB Bank Ltd chairman M Wahidul Haque, former managing director (MD) Shamim Ahmed Chowdhury, former deputy managing director (DMD) Sajjad Hossain, Operations Manager of Khatunganj Branch M Lokman Hossain, former senior vice-president (SVP) of Chittagong EPZ Branch M Shahjahan, former principal officer M Arif Newaz, former AVP Panet Chakraborty, former SVP M Salahuddin, VP Md Shahjahan, EVP M Aminur Rahman, former EVP Sharfuddin Ahmed, business division's AVP Kazi Ashiqur Rahman, former EVP Kazi Nasim Ahmed, former SEVP Abu Hena Mostofa Kamal, former SEVP and member credit committee Salma Akhter, EVP Shahabuddin Ahmed, and former directors MA Awal, Shishir Ranjan Bose, Feroz Ahmed, BB Saha Roy and Dr M Imtiaz Hossain.

After a short hearing, Judge KM Emrul Kayesh of the Senior Special Judge's Court of Dhaka fixed tomorrow for further hearing on the three separate petitions in the cases.

On November 26, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed three separate cases against 25 persons, including the former chairman, senior officials and nine directors of AB Bank Limited, on charges of laundering Tk 236 crore.

ACC Deputy Director Md Jahangir Alam, and assistant directors Nargis Sultana and Jesmine Akter filed the cases at the ACC's integrated Dhaka Office.

After an inquiry for about three-and-a-half years, the relevant ACC team detected the involvement of 25 people, mostly from the then board, including the bank's chairman M Wahidul Haque, said sources at the ACC.

Of the 25 people, 18 people have been prosecuted in all three cases.

According to the case statements, the money was laundered to Singapore and Dubai between 2014 and 2016.

In collusion with a section of the bank management and officials, three overseas companies using addresses in Singapore, USA and Dubai filed applications to the bank for loans from its offshore banking unit during the time, even though the companies did not exist.

The three fake companies are Sematcity General Trading LLC, ATZ Communications Pte Ltd and Euro Cars Holdings Pte Ltd.

According to the findings, the companies opened accounts with the bank after they had submitted the applications for the credit.

Of the three companies, one received Tk 60.40 crore, another Tk 14.88 crore and the other Tk 160.80 crore, sources said.