Diamond World MD Dilip Agarwala arrested

Members of the Detective Branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested Diamond World Managing Director Dilip Kumar Agarwala in Dhaka on Monday.

A team of DB police (Gulshan zone) apprehended him in the Banani area around 6pm, confirmed DMP Additional Commissioner (DB) Shafiqul Islam.

After his arrest, Dilip Agarwala was taken to the DB office on Minto Road, he said, adding that further legal action would be taken against him.

The DB official said the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police had filed a case against Agarwala and that he was arrested at the CID’s request in connection with the case.

The process of handing him over to the CID was under way, he said.

The CID filed a case against Agarwala with Gulshan Police Station under the Money Laundering Prevention Act over allegations that he laundered Tk678.19 crore under the guise of gold and diamond procurement.

The agency’s preliminary investigation raised questions about the sources of gold and diamonds procured by his company and the authenticity of the legal documents provided by its suppliers.

According to the CID, between 2006 and 2024, the company procured large quantities of gold and diamonds through legal imports as well as from the local market.

However, the agency said the necessary legal documents establishing the sources of these products could not be found.

Shortly after the fall of the Awami League government in 2024, the then Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested him following a raid on Diamond World’s Gulshan office over allegations of gold and diamond smuggling, fraud, forgery and money laundering. 

He was later shown arrested in a case filed over the killing of a teenage boy, Hridoy Ahmed, in Badda, Dhaka, during the July uprising.

Police also took him into custody for questioning. He was subsequently released on bail.