TDS Desk:

An astonishing amount of money has been discovered in the bank account of Marjina Akter, a domestic worker employed by S Alam Group head Saiful Alam.

Marjina, who worked at the Chittagong-based businessman’s residence, has been found to have a fixed deposit of Tk1 crore in her bank account.

An investigative team from Tax Zone-15 of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) is probing tax evasion by the S Alam family. During the investigation, they uncovered this substantial amount in a bank account under Marjina’s name.

According to the officials, Marjina deposited Tk1 crore across 22 fixed deposits (FDs) at the SFA Tower branch of Islami Bank in Chittagong’s Panchlaish area. These fixed deposits were opened on 4 February of this year, with an initial average deposit of around Tk450,000 in each FD. With accrued interest, each FD now holds Tk470,903, bringing the total to Tk10,359,866.

Tax officials are shocked to find such a large sum in the account of a domestic worker. They have already begun the process of seizing the funds, suspecting that the money may not belong to Marjina, but that the account was possibly used to hold money on behalf of someone else.

Additionally, another bank account in Marjina’s name was found at a branch of First Security Islami Bank at Probortok Mor, Chittagong. This account, opened in January 2012, shows transactions totaling Tk1,84,00,000 over the last 12 years, with deposits and withdrawals made at different times. However, officials report that there is currently no withdrawable balance in this account.

Marjina has worked as a domestic worker for the S Alam family for over a decade at their residence in the Sugandha Residential Area of Chittagong. The bank documents list her address as Meghna Bhaban, Parade Corner, Chawkbazar, and both accounts were opened using her national ID card.

Ahsan Habib, Commissioner of Tax Zone-15, said that they are trying to collect the due taxes from tax evaders. As part of this effort, they are scrutinizing the banking transactions of the S Alam family and associated individuals. During this investigation, the funds in Marjina’s account were discovered, which appear suspicious at first glance.