The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Monday filed a case against 22 executive officers, including chairman and managing director, of Maxim Finance and Commerce Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society Limited on charge of embezzling Tk 304.10 crore from its 18,000 clients through Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) system.ACC Deputy Director Nur Hossain Khan appealed to the officer-in-charge (OC) of Ramna Thana to get the case lodged. The OC, scrutinising the plea, registered the first information record (FIR) at around 11:00am, said sources in the police station. Although the case has been filed with the police station, it will be investigated by the ACC as per its Act.According to the case, after investigation, spot visit, finding records and scrutinising statements of concerned persons, the ACC found that the alleged accused took the money and laundered those. The accused launched their activities under an organisation ‘Maxim Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society Ltd’ on April 26 in 2005, the case record says. The working area of the organisation was limited in Ramna, Motijheel and Khilgaon in the city, but it was extended throughout the city by amending its prior registration in 2007, it states. The Maxim Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society Ltd was turned into Maxim Finance and Commerce Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society Ltd. The organisation is located in Lili Plaza (2nd floor) at 93 New Circular Road Road in Mowchank of the city.The aim of the organisation was to gather deposition from people and disburse those through loans system as per ethics and rules of Cooperative Act. The accused managed to collect Tk 304,10,53,604 from its 18,000 clients between 2005 and 2013 promising them of giving Tk 2,000 against Tk one lakh in a month. It also gave Tk 500 against one lakh to those who worked as middlemen between the organisation and the clients, the case goes on.The organisation received the permission from the Cooperative Directorate to set up 25 branch offices in the city but it opened 113 branches violating rules and regulations, the FIR sates. ACC found 8,888.39 decimals lands of the organisation worth of Tk 32.35 crore in 13 districts and a building at Purana Paltan in the city worth of Tk 12 crore. The commission did not find the evidence of wealth, which can fill up the money taken from the clients.The land was registered in name of Chairman of Maxim Group instead of Maxim Finance and Commerce Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society Ltd, which is totally illegal.The finance organisation showed that they collected the money and invested those in its different institutions. But it did not take permission from the Cooperative Directorate, the case says.The Cooperative Act 2004’s Section No 46(2) states that in case of investing over Tk five lakh, one is required to take pre-permission from the directorate.The case says, the accused in collaboration with each other collected the money from the people alluring them a good return but transferred those to unknown sources, which is a punishable offence under Money Laundering Act-2012’s section No- 4(2) (3). Mohammad Mofizul Haque, Chairman, M Habibur Rahman, Managing Director, Mostafizur Rahman, Director, Khairul Bashar, Director, Abdul Hannan Sarker, Director and Syed Shariful Islam, Director of the Maxim Finance and Commerce Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society Limited are among the executives sued in the case.
