A growing number of high-profile economic offenders continue to flee the country to escape prosecution.
They could manage to escape even if travel ban is imposed on them by government agencies, including the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Some fugitives went to different countries seeking residency or citizenship in lieu of investment-based schemes, sources said.
In such episodes of high-profile escape, former NRB Global Bank managing director and businessman Proshanta Kumar Haldar now facing money-laundering embezzlement and corruption charges also fled abroad recently.
Multiple sources said he is now living in Canada along with his family. He first went to India through Beanpole land port and then managed to go to Canada.
Sources said, Haldar floated several companies in Canadian cities of Montreal and Toronto after laundering money from Bangladesh. His brother and wife have been made directors of these business firms.
He went missing after allegation emerged of Tk 3,500 crore frauds at various banks and financial institutions.
Like him, another high-profile economic offender Abdul Aziz also got out of the country and is now also living in Canada.
Abdul Aziz went missing after non-repayment of bank loans by his company Crescent Group.
Five companies –Crescent Leather Products, Crescent Tanneries, Lexco Ltd, Rupali Composite Leatherwear and Remax Footwear– of Crescent Group, are owned by Abdul Aziz and his brother Abdul Kader. They owe Tk 3,443 crore (as of October last year) to Janata Bank alone.
Aziz is mainly known for owning a controversial film production company named Jaaz Multimedia.
It was alleged that Aziz invested in Kolkata-based movie production house named Eskay Movies and opened Jaaz Multimedia India Private Limited laundering a big sum of money from Bangladesh. Allegations are there that Aziz also deposited his ill-gotten money into foreign bank accounts.
The Customs Intelligence claimed to have detected that Crescent Group, in collusion with some officials of Janata Bank’s Imamganj branch in Dhaka, laundered Tk 1,297.65 crore abroad against 657 fake export bills.
The Anti-Corruption Commission also found proof of embezzlement of Tk 1,303.69 crore by the Group from the bank branch.
ACC in February 2019 filed five cases against 22 people including seven Crescent Group bosses and 15 Janata Bank Ltd officials on charge of embezzling around Tk 1,745 crore from the bank in the name of export business with forged documents.
Earlier, the ACC imposed travel ban on Haldar and Aziz as part of its investigation into their alleged involvement in money laundering and accumulation of wealth illegally.
“The ban was imposed on them after they were accused in connection with money laundering charges. The ACC investigation team also found primary evidence against them,” an ACC official told The New Nation on condition of anonymity.
When asked, he said, “The ACC usually send letter to the Special Branch of Police seeking travel ban on economic offenders to prevent them from fleeing the country. But how can they escape dodging the airport immigration is a big question. The case of Haldar and Aziz is such similar instances. Like them, many of the economic offenders left the country in the past to evade prosecution.”
“Economic offenders are frequently fleeing abroad despite being under the ACC radar. Such incidents undermine the rule of law and good governance,” TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzman told The New Nation.
He said although their alleged financial crimes running into thousands of crores taka and travel ban imposed on them, they manage to escape, as there might be ‘a virus in the antidote.’
“The relevant agencies must investigate the issue, otherwise, their credibility would come under serious questions. If the corrupts are not timely booked, the government’s ongoing drive against corruption would not bear fruit,” he added.
Dr Iftekharuzzman also called for strengthening border and immigration checks to prevent economic offenders from leaving the country.
He also said that the authorities should work sincerely with foreign governments to bring back those fugitives who have already got away, and plug the remaining loopholes in the system.
Former Sonali Bank Managing Director Humayun Kabir who is one of the prime accused in Tk 3,700 crore Hallmark loan scam, also went abroad after he was charged in a case filed by ACC. Afterwards, the ACC investigators could not trace him, but sources said he is currently in Canada with his family.
Former managing director of BASIC Bank Kazi Fakhrul Islam left the country after the ACC charged him in 48 cases out of total 56 cases filed in connection with the bank’s Tk 4,500 crore loan scam in 2015.
Relevant sources informed that he settled in Malaysia along with his family taking residency permits of Malaysian government.
“Many businessmen, influential people, loan defaulters and corrupt bankers fled abroad committing big financial crimes. They took away thousands of crores public money from banks and financial institutions. The state authorities appeared too weak to put high profile offenders in the dock,” observed Dr Khandaker Ibrahim Khaled, former Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank.
He cited that their escape hampers investigation in relevant cases, wastes precious time of courts and undermines the rule of law in Bangladesh.
Dr Ibrahim Khaled further said that the government should introduce legal measures to facilitate confiscation of assets of the economic offenders who fled to foreign countries to escape the clutches of law.
He said the ACC must arrest the top-level economic offenders who have mishandled general people’s money with priority. These actions by ACC will play important roles to resist corruption in financial sector. Otherwise, ACC’s activities come under questions.
