The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has arrested three people including former AB Bank chairman M Wahidul Haque for allegedly laundering around Tk165 crore outside the country.
The other two arrestees are Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal, chief of the bank's Financial Institutions and Treasury branch, and client Saiful Haque, a businessman.
They were arrested from Dhaka’s Ramna area on Thursday afternoon in a case filed by ACC Assistant Director Md Gulshan Anwar Prodhan at Motijheel police station, the graft watchdog’s spokesperson Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya told the Dhaka Tribune.
Four others were also accused in the case.
Pranab said the trio was allegedly involved in the laundering of around Tk165 crore to the United Arab Emirates through two shady organisations in the name of investment.
“They would be produced in court later in the day,” he added.
ACC source said the AB Bank board of directors in December 2013 had approved investment of around Tk165 crore in Singapore-based fundraising and investment company Pinnacle Global Fund Pte Ltd (PGF) through the bank’s Offshore Banking Unit (OBU).
The OBU then forwarded the money in February 2014 to an account of Cheng Bao General Trading LLC at the UAE-based Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB). Cheng Bao, which acted as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) or a mediator for the PGF, had withdrawn the money instantly and closed the account.
According to a Bangladesh Bank report, Wahidul, Kamal and former managing directors M Fazlur Rahman and Shamim Ahmed Chaudhury were directly involved in laundering the money.
The central bank had recommended removal of Wahidul from the AB Bank board and suspension of Kamal in line with the Bank Company Act 1991.
The report also found that Wahidul was named as a nominee of the bank's fund and a joint signatory of the ADCB account. He had visited the UAE in February 2014 to complete the deal.
AB Bank, however, had failed to show the central bank any formal offer letter from PGF.
Bangladesh Bank sent its report to the ACC on November 15 last year and asked it to take legal action against those involved in the money laundering.
Later, the ACC formed a probe body and questioned them.
Wahidul and Fazlur were summoned and questioned at the ACC headquarters on December 28 last year. Four other directors of AB Bank were also interrogated over the matter that month.
Then, on January 4, the commission imposed a ban on the travel of 16 senior officials of the bank. Three days later, it grilled newly appointed Chairman MA Awal and another director.
ACC investigation found that two individuals named Khurram and Abdus Samad had acted as middlemen in the transaction. Besides, some AB Bank higher-ups had also travelled to Dubai multiple times.
Before the ACC probe started, Wahidul, vice-chairman Selim Ahmed and director Fahmidul Haque had resigned during the bank’s Annual General Meeting at a Dhaka hotel last month.
Sunday, March 16, 2025
