BB freezes account of marketing company

The central bank has suspended for one month a bank account of UniGateway2u, a multi-level marketing company, with Social Islami Bank Ltd (SIBL) on charges of suspicious transactions.
Bangladesh Bank (BB) on Tuesday issued a letter freezing the account, saying the account was suspended under anti-money laundering rules.
The BB letter did not raise any specific charge against UniGateway2u but said it was based on SIBL's report to the central bank that the account had suspicious transactions.
BB officials said, though the account was opened on October 12, the amount of total deposit in it has reached Tk 12 crore now.
They said money amounting from Tk 20 lakh to Tk 50 lakh has been deposited from different areas of the country in the account, which was considered suspicious, and the SIBL reported it to the central bank.
The officials said, in line with the anti-money laundering act they can freeze any suspicious account for a maximum period of one month. By the time the central bank will investigate with which other banks they have accounts and whether they have been earning through illegal ways. Then the BB takes the next step.
In the bank account of the company, Masudur Rahman was shown as its chairman and Mosfiqur Rahman as managing director.
According to the website of the company, UniGateway2u facilitates online payment processing and has nationwide agents and merchants. It also has clients in Bangalore of India.
The website mentioned the na-
mes of some other companies of
the Group: Unipay2u, UniGold2u, VISAREV, Uniexchange2u, UniPay2U International.
When contacted, Mosfiqur Rahman said they still do not know why the account was suspended. He said, after knowing the details, they will take the next course of action.
He said their business follows multi-level marketing and they bring in different commodities from abroad to market those in the country.
Rahman admitted the presence of the companies under the group but said their management was separate.
Earlier the central bank in May suspended for one month a bank account of UniPay2u Bangladesh, a 'gold trading company' that promises high returns on investment. The BB then froze accounts of the company with three private banks. Later the company filed a writ petition with the High Court, and on a HC stay order they have been continuing their business since then.