A Bangladeshi-born senior leader of Islamic state (IS) used a secret code for financing militant activities in Bangladesh before his death in Syria, according to the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of police.
CTTC sources said Siful Sujan sent Tk40 lakh from Syria to his father Abul Hasnat and younger brother Galib using the code ‘Sadarghat 256’.
The money was supposed to be transferred to New JMB chief Tamim Chowdhury, but detectives raided Sujan’s business address in Karwan Bazar in Dhaka and recovered the money.
Sujan’s father, brother, brother-in-law and an office staff member were arrested during the raid. CTTC is now investigating two cases filed against them under Anti-Terrorism Act and Money Laundering Act.
Also Read- Report: Bangladeshi-born IS leader’s firm financed attacks in Barcelona
A CTTC officer, wishing anonymity, said: “Sujan went to London in 2003 for higher studies and gradually became involved with militancy. After completing his education in computer system engineering at University of Glamorgan, he opened a computer firm and he began funding militant activities through the company.”
Sujan and his family left the UK three years ago to join IS in Syria. He was killed in a US drone strike on December 10, 2015 but his financing network remained intact to fund IS schemes using fraudulent transactions.
After this was uncovered by the FBI, an affidavit was filed in a federal court in Baltimore, US, which claimed the finance network operated through an IT firm called Ibacs which Sujan had set up in Cardiff in the UK.
The Tamim Connection
The CTTC officer also said that Sujan had sent money to Tamim Chowdhury when New JMB began to operate in Bangladesh.
According to CTTC, Sujan met several times with Tamim Chowdhury when he visited Dhaka in 2014 and had introduced him to various routes of covert militant financing.
“Two mid-level New JMB militants revealed information during interrogation about Sobuj’s terror financing,” the officer said.
The two arrested militants had also joined New JMB via Sujan. Tamim had assigned one of them to look after New JMB’s financial side.
“Before the Gulshan attack, Tamim received Tk14 lakh through the channels as per Sujan’s instruction,” a CTTC official said. “New JMB had been receiving funds through the channel even after Sujan’s death. Later, police detected the mediator money launderer and stopped financing through the channel.”
CTTC Additional Deputy Commissioner Abdul Mannan said the unit was receiving more information about militant financing.
“The investigation is going on after scrutinising the information. It would be possible to control militancy if the financing could be stopped,” he said.
A militant family
Hailing from Pakuria village of Khulna, Sujan was one of the top 10 leaders of IS, leading the group’s IT and cyber unit.
He recruited his wife, his father Abul Hasnat, his brothers Galib and Ataul Haque Sobuj, and even Sobuj’s his ex-wife to act for the terrorist group.
Sujan and Sobuj went to UK around the same time and the brothers remained in contact after Sobuj moved to Spain.
Sobuj still remains under the radar of law enforcement agencies, though it is believed he might have financed or been directly involved in the recent terror attacks in Barcelona.
CTTC sent a letter to Spanish police via Interpol to arrest Sobuj for his alleged involvement in terror financing.
This article was first published on Bangla Tribune
