TDS Desk:

Nazrul Islam Majumdar, a businessman closely associated with former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, has allegedly laundered thousands of crores of taka through bond forgery and import-export fraud.

With the laundered money, Nazrul has amassed significant assets in London, Canada, and Dubai, including purchasing properties in prime areas like Central London, Scarborough in Canada, and the Marina district in Dubai. He reportedly bought these assets by taking loans of approximately Tk21,000 crores under the names of four companies he owns.

According to documents from the UK’s Companies House and Land Registry Office, two luxury houses were purchased in 2019 and 2020 under the names of two separate companies owned by Nazrul and his daughter Anika Islam. One of these properties, located at 30 Phillimore Gardens in Kensington, London, was purchased on 15 February, 2019, for £9.95 million under the company “ANW London Properties Limited.” Another house was bought on 25 September, 2020, at 2 Brunswick Gardens in London, for £8 million under “NASA Properties Limited.”

In Dubai, Majumdar purchased four apartments, each approximately 1,500 square feet, in the Marina district. Additionally, he acquired a luxury house on Canscot Road in Scarborough, Canada, about 25 kilometers from Toronto. He has also established multiple businesses in London and Dubai.

The Bangladesh Bank’s report states that using his influence, Majumdar laundered money under the guise of import-export activities in the name of various NASA Group companies. Over the last four years, at least Tk210 crores were illegally transferred to the UK. With this money, he purchased luxury cars and houses in the names of his relatives. The Offsite Supervision Report by Bangladesh Bank highlighted these illicit transactions. Between 2015 and 2019, he embezzled approximately Tk20,000 crores through back-to-back LCs under the pretense of nominal import-export activities.

The report further reveals irregularities in loans related to NASA Group’s textile and garment units. For instance, in 2015, the loan limit for the textile unit was set at Tk145 crores, but Tk353 crores taken. The imported goods were worth Tk174 crores, but only Tk153 crores were exported.

In 2020, during an inspection by Bangladesh Bank, allegations of money laundering and other financial irregularities against Nazrul surfaced. The report indicated that the amount of goods imported was significantly higher than what was exported, resulting in the laundering of at least Tk21,000 crores over the last four years to multiple countries, including the UK, Canada, and Dubai.

However, due to his influence and connections, no legal action was taken by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) or Bangladesh Bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU). According to a responsible source, the allegations were largely suppressed without thorough investigation, likely due to his powerful connections. Attempts to reach Nazrul Islam Majumdar for comments were unsuccessful as he did not answer his phone.