A court has sent Imran Hossain, the chairman of Sadeeq Agro, to jail in a money laundering case filed under the Money Laundering Act at Mohammadpur police station.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate MA Azharul Islam issued the order after a hearing on Tuesday.
During the session, the investigation officer of the case, CID Inspector Md Sayedur Rahman, presented Imran Hossain before the court and requested that he be kept in jail.
The defense lawyer argued for bail, while the public prosecutor, Omar Faruq Faruqi, opposed the bail request.
After the hearing, the judge rejected the bail plea and ordered Imran Hossain to be sent to jail.
On Monday, Sub-Inspector Md Jonaid Hossain of CID’s Financial Crime Unit filed the case at Mohammadpur police station under the Money Laundering Prevention Act and its regulations.
The case accused Sadeeq Agro’s chairman, Imran Hossain, along with Touhidul Alam Zenith, the company Sadeeq Agro Ltd, and five to seven unidentified individuals of laundering Tk133 crore.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested Imran Hossain in connection with the case on Monday.
According to the case statement, between July 12, 2017, and August 18, 2024, Imran Hossain, Touhidul Alam Zenith, and Sadeeq Agro Ltd were involved in smuggling, fraud, and forgery through an organized crime syndicate.
They illegally imported unauthorized Brahma breed cattle and smuggled approximately Tk86 lakh abroad in violation of government regulations.
The accused smuggled cows and buffaloes from Thailand and Myanmar into Bangladesh through the Teknaf and Ukhiya border areas in Cox’s Bazar.
They also brought small-sized Bhutti cows from Bhutan and Nepal to sell in Bangladesh.
The accused misled customers by falsely advertising local cows and goats as foreign high-breed livestock, selling them at inflated prices in sacrificial animal markets.
Through fraudulent means, they laundered approximately Tk121.32 crore by transferring, relocating, and converting illegally earned money through various bank accounts associated with them and their company.
Despite government instructions to slaughter 15 confiscated Brahma breed cows, which were kept at the Central Cattle Breeding and Dairy Farm in Savar under the supervision of Dhaka Customs House, the accused allegedly manipulated documents to falsely indicate that the cows had been slaughtered while secretly keeping them.
They also illegally occupied and filled up the Ramchandrapur government canal in the Mohammadpur embankment area.
Additionally, they opened a Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) under their company, Jalalabad Metal Ltd, and invested Tk11.36 crore of illegally obtained funds.
Last year, Sadeeq Agro came under scrutiny after a controversy involving the sale of a Tk15 lakh goat to Mushfiqur Rahman Ifat, the son of National Board of Revenue (NBR) member Matiur Rahman.
Following the incident, multiple agencies, including the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the NBR, launched investigations into potential irregularities involving Sadeeq Agro.
