Dr. HBM Iqbal, the former chairman of Premier Bank, has withdrawn a huge amount of money from his and his family members' frozen accounts through innovative fraud methods, even while residing abroad. He is the former chairman of Premier Bank. This information has emerged in the investigation report of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU).
This sensational information about the money laundering came to light through a investigation by Khaborer Kagoj based on the BFIU investigation report.
The investigation shows that the BFIU seized the accounts of Dr. HBM Iqbal and his family members, Moin Iqbal, Imran Iqbal, and Jamal G Ahmed, on November 11, 2024. Dr. Iqbal withdrew money from these accounts by exerting influence. He was assisted in this innovative fraud by the current Managing Director (MD) of Premier Bank, Abu Zafar, and his two associates - Additional Managing Director (AMD) Syed Nowsher Ali and the Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer (CAMELCO) Shamsuddin Choudhury of the bank.
The bank's MD is also accused of committing criminal offenses in carrying out this fraud. He also destroyed CCTV footage to cover up his misdeeds.
The investigation shows that Dr. Iqbal's innovative approach is even better than the film. According to bank sources, an account seizure order was issued by the BFIU on the goAML message board at 4:09 PM on November 11, 2024. The goAML message board is a secure part of the goAML (Anti Money Laundering System) software, where Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) and reporting institutions can communicate directly and securely with each other. Using this board, the FIU exchanges information on suspicious transactions, trends related to money laundering and terrorist financing, and various guidelines.
The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has issued an order to freeze the bank accounts of former Premier Bank chairman HBM Iqbal and his family members Moin Iqbal, Imran Iqbal, and Jamal G Ahmed. BFIE has alleged that the current MD and CEO did not take immediate action after receiving this order and instead delayed the implementation of the order in the name of procrastination and administrative procedures. The BFIU has alleged that after receiving this order, the current MD and CEO did not take immediate effective action and delayed the implementation of the order in the name of procrastination and administrative procedures.
According to an investigation by Khaborer Kagoj, Dr. Iqbal was not in the country when this order was sent to Premier Bank. Despite that, the bank's MD Mohammad Abu Zafar and his two close associates, the bank's Additional AMD Syed Nowsher Ali and Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer (CAMELCO) Shamsuddin Chowdhury had illegally arranged for withdrawal of money for Dr. Iqbal and his family members, defying the instructions of the BFIU.
Investigation revealed that Deputy Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer Md. Saiful Islam received a copy of this order at approximately 4:25 pm that day. As soon as he received this order, he immediately gave a copy of it to Shamsuddin Chowdhury of CAMELCO. Saiful Islam also sought Shamsuddin Chowdhury's permission to e-mail the account seizure order to all branches. At this time, Shamsuddin quickly took a copy of the seizure and went to MD Mohammad Abu Jafar's room, leaving Saiful seated. At this time, Shamsuddin also informed several senior officials including AMD Syed Nowsher Ali about the matter.
MD Abu Zafar marked the order at that time and verbally instructed Camelco Shamsuddin to follow the instructions given by AMD Syed Nowsher Ali in this regard. The investigation also revealed that shortly after this, Md. Saiful directly delivered the copy of the account seizure order to Syed Nowsher Ali at approximately 4:45 pm. MD Mohammad Abu Zafar AMD asked Syed Nowsher Ali to settle the matter without leaving any evidence.
Nowsher Ali held a long, closed-door meeting with some officials from the head office and continued to procrastinate. Meanwhile, according to a secret plan conspired by Mohammad Abu Zafar and his two associates Syed Nowsher Ali and Shamsuddin Chowdhury, the work of withdrawing money from the accounts of former chairman Dr. HBM Iqbal and his family members was completed. After the money was withdrawn, a family member came and took the money. At that time, a total of Tk 11 million and 30 thousand dollars (Tk 36 lakh 60 thousand) in their account were withdrawn. The total amount of money withdrawn stood at Tk 147 lakh 60 thousand.
The bank's CCTV footage was destroyed to avoid any evidence of this crime (all kinds of documentary and illegal activities). CCTV footage is considered essential for bank security and internal investigations. This has resulted in a criminal offense, which includes obstructing an investigation into money laundering and concealing information.
Meanwhile, AMD Nowsher Ali issued instructions in this regard after the money was withdrawn from the seized account without any problems. "Since the accounts mentioned in the freeze order belong to respected individuals, the seizure order should be sent via 'one-to-one' email only to the relevant branches and other branches should be informed at a later date," said Nowsher Ali at around 8:20 pm, after keeping Saiful Islam waiting for a decision for about four hours.
The BFIU asked the bank about it but did not receive a satisfactory response, after the incident came to light. For this reason, on May 12 of this year, Bangladesh Bank fined Premier Bank 11 million taka and 30 thousand dollars, or a total of 14.8 million taka, under Section 23 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. That section of the law states that if an account is seized or suspended and fails to comply, the bank concerned can be fined an amount equal to the balance. Therefore, Dr. HBM Iqbal has been fined the same amount of money that he withdrew from the seized bank account.Along with this, it has also been said that those involved in this incident will be brought to justice.
Although the BFIU law provides for the collection of fines from the officers involved in the crime, the bank's MD violated that provision. He disregarded the BFIU's order and deposited the fine through reconciliation from the bank's main General Ledger (GL) section. The general ledger of a bank basically includes various accounts of assets, liabilities, income and expenses. It includes major sections such as general assets (cash, investments), general liabilities (deposits), income (interest income, commission), and expenses (interest expense, salaries, rent).
The BFIU chargesheet states that MD Abu Zafar, Syed Nowsher Ali, Additional Managing Director and Camelco Shamsuddin Chowdhury were fully involved in the commission of this misdeed. The entire matter amounts to a criminal offense and a serious violation of the anti-money laundering system.
According to bank sources, Premier Bank's current ICC head Fahim Ashraf conducted an audit on the incident. The exact details of this misdeed were not revealed. Sources said that Saiful Islam protested the illegal crime during the audit process. However, the audit report was submitted by making him the culprit. Analysis of the events showed that the bank's MD Mohammad Abu Zafar, AMD Syed Nowsher Ali, and Camelco Shamsuddin Chowdhury were actually supposed to be the culprits, but Saiful Islam was made the culprit.
Despite such irregularities and arbitrary behavior, the bank's MD Mohammad Abu Jafar remains in his job. Attempts have been made to contact him several times by calling him on phone, WhatsApp, and sending messages to get his statement on this matter. But he did not respond to anything.
Bangladesh Bank dissolved the board of directors of Premier Bank and formed a new board on August 19 in the wake of various irregularities in the bank. The new board includes one shareholder director and five independent directors. Arifur Rahman, an entrepreneurial shareholder of Premier Bank, has been appointed as a director on the new board. He is currently the chairman of the bank.
When asked about the matter, Chairman Arifur Rahman told Khaborer Kagoj, "I have come to know about the matter of withdrawing money from the bank accounts of former Chairman Dr. Iqbal and his family members and fines in violation of the BFIU's instructions. The board of directors has decided to relieve Camelco Shamsuddin Chowdhury of his duties for negligence of duty and an investigation committee has been formed with immediate effect."
He also said that the BFIU has asked for 'stern action' or strict action to be taken against those involved, subject to investigation. 'Stern punishment will be taken against those involved in the incident, subject to investigation.'"It will also be ensured that no innocent person is punished," he added.
In this regard, senior economist and former head of Bangladesh Bank Dr. Mustafa K. Mujeri told the Khaborer Kagoj that ordering the seizure of BFIU accounts means that no transactions can be made in that account. Disobeying this instruction means disobeying the instructions of Bangladesh Bank, which will be considered a punishable offense. If appropriate action is not taken against those involved in this incident, such crimes will continue to occur. He stressed the need for swift action, saying, "I think the relevant authorities should investigate the matter thoroughly and if it is true, appropriate action should be taken against those responsible."
When asked about the related matter, Bangladesh Bank Executive Director and Spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan told Khaborer Kagoj that the BFIU is investigating the matter. Bangladesh Bank's inspection also found information about several irregularities at Premier Bank. Bangladesh Bank recently dissolved the bank's board of directors and formed a new board of directors. It is hoped that the bank will be run well under the new leadership.
