ACC sues 21 including 19 bankers for illegal transactions of foreign currencies at Dhaka airport

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against 21 persons, including 19 bankers, on charges of illegal transactions of foreign currencies at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA).

Nine Janata Bank officials, eight Sonali Bank officials, one Agrani Bank official, one Mutual Trust Bank official and two money exchange houses’ officials have been made accused in the case.

Syed Nazrul Islam, Deputy Director of the ACC, filed the case on Wednesday with its Integrated District Office in Dhaka-1.

The accused list includes Janata Bank Local Office’s Senior Officer Md Suruz Jamal and Principal Officers Shamim Ahmed and Md Ashiquzzaman, Senior Officer Amit Chandra De, Khilgaon Road Branch’s Senior Officer Md Manik Mia, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) Booth’s Senior Officers Sadik Iqbal and Md Sujon Ali, HSIA Booth in Charge and Principal Officer Anwar Pervez and HSIA Booth Senior Officer Md Humayun Kabir.

It also includes Sonali Bank’s HSIA Booth’s Senior Officer Md Shariful Islam Bhuiyan, Rajendrapur Cantonment Branch’s Senior Officer Md Sohrab Uddin Khan, Senior Officer Mohammad Sobuz Mir, HSIA Branch’s Senior Officer Khan Asiqur Rahman, Senior Officer ABM Sazzad Haider, Senior Officer Md Kamrul Islam, Officer Samiul Islam Khan and HSIA Branch’s supporting staff Md Mosharraf Hossain.

Agrani Bank’s HSIA Booth’s Senior Officer Md Abdur Razzak, Mutual Trust Bank’s HSIA Booth’s Officer Md Abu Tareq Prodhan, Avia Money Changer’s Customer Service Manager Md Asadul Hossain, and Imperial Money Exchange Company Limited’s Director K M Kabir Ahmed have also been named.

The accused have committed offences under Section 3(3) and 23(1) of The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947; under Section 5(2) of The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947; under Section 4(2) of The Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012, said the case statement.

The case has been filed following a primary inquiry held by an enforcement team of the Anti-Corruption Commission in February.

The case statement said, “Bank officials use bank funds to buy foreign currency without vouchers from expatriates at or below the rate set by the bank and sell it to the money exchange agencies, Avia Money Changer and Imperial Money Exchange, located at the airport for a profit.

After the sale, they reconciled the bank's funds from the money received and kept the dividend in their own pocket.”

Every day, thousands of expatriate workers and travellers from abroad come to Bangladesh through the airport. The foreign currency they bring with them is encashed in local currency (Bangladeshi Taka) at bank booths and money exchangers at the airport.

Foreign currency encashment vouchers are to be paid to the encasher as per laws, rules and regulations. But these officials of banks and money exchangers accepted foreign currency directly without giving vouchers or with fake vouchers and gave money in exchange.

The ACC inquiry suggested foreign currency approximately Tk 1.0 billion is being transacted every day outside the banking channel. Most of the transacted money is being laundered abroad in different channels and such activities are intensifying the ongoing dollar crisis in the country, the inquiry report also said. 

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