Money stashed in 5 countries
The Anti-Corruption Commission has traced transactions to foreign banks through which some officials of controversial Destiny Group siphoned off huge amounts in five countries.
Destiny officials laundered S$ 77,608 in Singapore and €84,600 in E-top Aviation in France through non-banking channels (hundi) from Best Air Ltd, a concern of the group, an ACC deputy director told The Daily Star wishing anonymity.
Besides, the anti-graft agency traced an account with JP Morgan Chase Bank in the USA and two others in Malaysia and Canada, owned by the group's Managing Director Rafiqul Amin.
The group MD also has a 50 percent stake in Soft Talk Online HK Ltd in Hong Kong.
The official said the ACC would seek the details of the transactions for the bank accounts and take necessary steps to bring back the money.
The ACC has initiated steps to send Mutual Legal Assistance Request (MLAR) to the countries concerned through the attorney general's office as it is the central authority for dealing with such matters.
Of the S$ 77,608, Rafiqul himself laundered S$ 64,581 and the rest was found in a bank account of Destiny Singapore, a concern of the group in Singapore.
ACC sources said the amounts were siphoned off from Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd (DMCSL) and Destiny Tree Plantation Ltd (DTPL).
On July 31 last year, the anti-graft agency filed two cases with Kalabagan Police Station, accusing 22 officials of Destiny Group including its MD Rafiqul Amin and Director Lt Gen (rtd) M Harunur Rashid for laundering Tk 3,285.26 crore between 2006 and April last year by cheating investors.
It filed a case with the same police station against 12 Destiny officials for laundering about Tk 2106.64 crore out of the DTPL.
The amount was laundered in the name of paying salary, honorarium, dividend, commission, incentive and promotional costs.
Twenty-two top officials of the company were sued by the ACC in another case for laundering Tk 1178.61 crore from the DMCSL.
The amount was embezzled by cheating people and transferring the money to other non-profitable and non-operational companies of the group.
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