The High Court has directed the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to settle an inquiry petition against former Eastern Bank Limited chairman and ship-breaking businessman Shaukat Ali Chowdhury for allegedly laundering $25 million in the UK.
At the same time, the court issued a rule asking why legal action should not be taken against the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) for failing to bring back the money smuggled abroad.
The High Court bench, headed by Justice Fahmida Quader, passed the order after hearing a writ petition.
According to the writ petition and court documents, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) received information about some suspicious financial transactions of Shaukat Ali Chowdhury while searching for the illegal assets of former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury abroad.
According to the investigation-related information, about $25 million was transferred from the UK through the UBS Bank in Switzerland to deposited the Mashrek Bank and Emirates NBD in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Later, the concerned authorities in the UK informed the Central Intelligence Cell of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) about this information.
On the basis of this information, Supreme Court lawyer Advocate AHM Rezwanul Sayeed appealed to the concerned agencies to investigate the money laundering allegations against Shaukat Ali Chowdhury. However, he filed a writ petition in the High Court as no effective action was taken for a long time.
The ACC chairman, BFIU chief, NBR chairman and Bangladesh Bank governor were made defendants in the writ.
Senior lawyer Syed Mamun Mahbub, advocate Mohammad Ali and barrister HM Sanjid Siddique stood for the writ petitioner. They told the court that the inaction of the agencies concerned to recover the money smuggled abroad and to carry out the legal responsibility of the agencies to prevent money laundering.
As a result of the High Court order, the ACC will now have to decide on the investigation of money laundering allegations against Shaukat Ali Chowdhury within the stipulated time. In addition, the authorities concerned will have to respond to the rule issued by the court on the role of BFIU.