NBR moves to freeze bank accounts of 20 people, including ex-ministers, MPs

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is moving to freeze the bank accounts of at least 20 individuals and organisations suspected of providing financial and logistical support to the ongoing garment workers’ movement demanding higher wages.

The NBR has already sent instructions to all banks in this regard, based on intelligence reports, according to a recent report by a Bengali daily.

The list includes owners of some of the country’s leading industrial groups, former ministers, former members of parliament and political activists. Most of them were associated with the now-banned Awami League or had benefited from the party’s rule.

Some of their bank accounts were already frozen after 5 August in connection with cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and other agencies. Some are in jail, while others are abroad.

As a result, their immediate comments on the allegations could not be obtained.

At an NBR event on Tuesday (3 November), its chairman Ahsan Habib hinted at the freezing of bank accounts belonging to several individuals and organisations. He said the Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) and the income tax intelligence department were freezing the accounts of 34 individuals and 34 families for a specific reason.

According to NBR sources, owners of 12 business groups are suspected of financing sabotage during the workers’ movement. Those on the list include Tipu Munshi, founder and managing director of Sipiul Group and former commerce minister under the Awami League government.

The bank accounts of Salman F Rahman, owner of Beximco Group and former private industry and investment adviser to then prime minister Sheikh Hasina, are also being frozen over similar allegations.

Others whose bank accounts are being frozen include Salam Murshedy, managing director of Envoy Group and former MP; Shahriar Alam, owner of Renaissance Group and former state minister for foreign affairs; Nasrul Hamid Bipu, owner of Hamid Group and former state minister for power and energy; Tajul Islam, founder of Fabian Group and former local government minister; Faizur Rahman Badal, managing director of Tusuka Group; Abdus Salam, founder of Well Group; Khosru Chowdhury, managing director of Nipa Group; Zahid Ahmed Tulu, director of Axis Knitwears Ltd; AKM Mosharraf Hossain, managing director of Standard Group; and Masuma Khatun Lipa, chairman of Givency Group.

The accounts of former MP Ilias Uddin Mollah, former Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president and Dhaka North City Awami League general secretary SM Mannan Kochi, and Jahangir Alam, Sheikh Hasina’s former personal assistant, are also being frozen over allegations of financing protests in the Mirpur area.

Sources said the accounts of several other individuals linked to the Awami League were also being frozen based on intelligence reports. They include Alif Mollah, nephew of former MP Ilias Uddin Mollah; Mahbubur Rahman Jewel, an associate of Jahangir Alam; local Awami League activists Kamal Gazi and a person identified as Shuvo.

According to sources, former MP and Awami League joint general secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim is coordinating online activities. Under his leadership, around 150 people are allegedly responsible for sharing videos and photographs of protests from different locations through 20 to 25 WhatsApp groups, Telegram channels and Facebook pages. Nasim’s bank accounts are also reportedly being frozen.

Recently, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed told reporters at the Secretariat that former ministers, state ministers and MPs associated with the banned political organisation were instigating the ongoing unrest in the garment sector. He added that the government had information and evidence suggesting the involvement of some industrialists in the activities.

Asked about the freezing of bank accounts, a senior NBR official told journalists that instructions had already been sent to banks by email to freeze the accounts of the individuals and organisations concerned, based on intelligence reports.