Staff Reporter :
The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has found suspicious transaction in the bank accounts of Insurance Development & Regulatory Authority (IDRA) chairman Dr M Mosharraf Hossain. The intelligence organization has already forwarded intelligence report to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to take necessary steps over the issue.
In a compliance report submitted in the High Court, the BFIU also stated that Dr M Mosharraf Hossain maintains 30 accounts in five banks in his names and in the names of his interested concern. Of them, about Tk 406.1 million was deposited from 2017 to March 2021 in 18 accounts.
Jannatul Mawa, wife of Dr Mosharraf, opened two FDRs in the name of ‘Muhammad Shahidullah & Company’ on December 7, 2020, depositing cash amounting to Tk five million, which could be linked to allegations of bribery by Mosharraf, said the BFIU report.
At the time of opening the two accounts, the condition of authorization given by the ‘Muhammad Shahidullah & Company’ in favor of Jannatul Mawa was violated.
A Separate five-member board of trustees has been formed to conduct the gratuity fund and provident fund of three organizations owned by Dr Mosharraf and Jannatul Mawa. Mosharraf Hossain is the chairman and his wife Jannatul Mawa is the secretary of all the boards of trustees.
However, the amount that has been deposited (about Tk 329.1 million) in the three provident funds and three gratuity funds is not consistent with the transactions (about Tk 36.0 million) found in the accounts of the institutions.
Depositing money in the provident and gratuity funds from various sources, withdrawing cash from the accounts, maintaining the accounts with the single signature of Dr Mosharraf and transferring amount from the accounts for making FDRs in his own name don’t appear to be normal, the report also read.
Following a writ petition, the then High Court bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman on November 9 in 2021 directed the ACC and BFIU to dispose of a representation that sought an inquiry into the allegations of corruption, money laundering, abuse of power, misrepresentation and breach of trust by chairman of the IDRA Dr M Mosharraf Hossain.
The ACC and the BFIU had been asked to inform the court within 30 days over their steps taken in this regard. Complying with the court asking the BFIU submitted the report in the High Court last week.
Abu Saleh Mohammad Amin Mehedi, an investor of the stock market, filed the writ petition in November last year as a public interest litigation.
Barrister Khan Mohammad Shamim Aziz placed the report on behalf of BFIU, while Barrister Mustafizur Rahman Khan and Advocate Sumaiya Ifrit Binte Ahmed appeared in the court on behalf of the writ petitioner.
The report has been submitted in the High Court bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder
And Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo as the earlier bench does not exist due to elevation of Justice M Enayetur Rahim to the Appellate Division of the SC, said Barrister Shamim Aziz.
Earlier on September 30, last year the same High Court bench following another writ petition issued a ruling upon the respondents to explain in four weeks as to why the appointment of Dr M Mosharraf Hossain, FCA, as the chairman the IDRA should not be declared illegal, as it violated the Section 7(b) of the IDRA Act, 2010.
