Ziaul Ahsan got Antiguan citizenship for $2 lakh

Ex-Major General Ziaul Ahsan and his family members got the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda by spending $200,000 and investing another $1.35 million in the twin-island state in the eastern Caribbean Sea, investigators said yesterday.

There were transactions of at least Tk 170 crore in his accounts with banks in the US, UAE, and Malaysia, the Anti-Corruption Commission has found in an investigation.

Ziaul, who was the director general of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre, was relieved of his duties by the army after the fall of the Awami League regime in early August.

The anti-graft body accused him in two separate cases while his wife Nusrat Jahan faces charges of acquiring illegal assets worth Tk 41 crore.

Her accounts in 12 bank accounts saw transactions totalling Tk 342.5 crore, anti-corruption officers said.

The family acquired citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda, a tax haven, in 2017. On their behalf, $200,000 was paid by Martil Consulting Malaysia Berhad to C&C Consultancy and Management Services.

Investigators found that Ziaul had transactions of approximately 6 million dirhams, around TK 20 crore, in his accounts with First Abu Dhabi Bank, approximately 23 million dirhams, around Tk 75 crore, with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, and approximately 7 million ringgit, around Tk 75 crore, with Affin Bank Berhad, Malaysia.

Additionally, he has an account in the Bank of America. The ACC has evidence that he laundered a significant amount of money using that account, officers said.

Ziaul owns a farmhouse, an eight-storey building in Dhaka, an eight-storey building in Barishal, a house in Jhalakathi, three flats and 3333.51 decimals of land in Dhaka. He has an investment of Tk 5 crore in the stock market and Tk 1 crore in savings bond, officers said.

The value of these properties acquired between 2009 and 2024 is Tk 15.77 crore.

According to the cases, Ziaul acquired assets worth Tk 22.27 crore which is inconsistent with his known sources of income.

There were suspicious transactions of approximately Tk 120 crore in eight of his bank accounts. He deposited $ 55,000 into an account, violating the Guidelines for Foreign Exchange Transactions-2018 and the FEOD Circular-6 dated February 3, 2020.

The complaint filed against Ziaul's wife, Nusrat Jahan, said she acquired assets worth Tk 18.59 crore that are inconsistent with her known sources of income.

There were unusual transactions of approximately Tk 222.50 crore in four of her accounts.

Ziaul was arrested on August 15.