Nazrul Islam Mazumder's Empires Abroad Made With Outlawed Money

 
Branded financial thug Nazrul Islam Mazumder illegally transferred countless amounts of money to different foreign countries including United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and another few overseas destinations while the immediate past autocratic regime was in power from 2009 to 2024. Nazrul Islam Mazumder built up enormous empires with his outlawed funds in the above foreign locations.

Nazrul Islam Mazumder capitalized on his photographs clicked with ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina which appeared on the first page of several Bengali and English newspapers a number of times and he brandished these pictures as weapons to exert influence on Bangladesh's banks and financial institutions and thus gobbled up unimaginable sums of depositors' money. To legitimize his monetary misappropriations, Nazrul Islam Mazumder donated a big chunk of his unlawfully obtained money to the Prime Minister's Relief fund every year.

The Crime Investigation Department (CID) has launched an investigation against Nassa Group Chairman Nazrul Islam Mazumder, who was arrested on 01 October 2024, on charges of laundering nearly $3 million or some Tk35 crore to the United States under the pretext of export.

Nazrul Islam Mazumder is accused of the above stated crime through trade-based money laundering using Firoza Garments Limited, a sister concern of Nassa group, the CID said in a press release issued on Wednesday.

According to the press statement, Firoza Garments exported goods to the US under 130 LCs/sales contracts opened with the National Bank Ltd during the period from March 2020 to 2024.

However, preliminary investigation by the CID has revealed that the company did not repatriate $3 million in export proceeds for the goods within the stipulated time; the CID stated and added that the money was laundered to the United States of America.

Besides, the CID has also received allegations that Nazrul Islam Mazumder's daughter Anika Islam has bought houses in London's Phillimore Garden and Brunswick Garden using laundered money.

Nazrul Islam Mazumder is also accused of embezzling hundreds of crores of taka through duty evasions by bringing duty-free raw materials from abroad under the bond facility in the name of various organizations of Nassa Group and selling those goods in the domestic open market, said the CID.

Furthermore, applying his vile clouts, Nazrul Islam Mazumder took a loan of about Tk21,000 crore in favour of four organizations related to Nassa group under the pretext of import and export, and laundered hundreds of crores of taka to Dubai, United Kingdom, Thailand, Singapore and Canada through under invoicing and over invoicing.

A separate investigation against Nazrul Islam Mazumder is also underway by the financial crimes wing of CID on these charges.

Nazrul Islam Mazumder, chairman and founder of Nassa Group led the Bankers Association of Bangladesh (BAB) for nearly 17 years during the Awami League-led government since 2009.

He is also the former chairman of Exim Bank.

Following the overthrow of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 5 August 2024, Bangladesh Bank removed Nazrul Islam Mazumder and his wife Nasreen Islam from Exim Bank's board on 29 August 2024.

Earlier on 25 August, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) ordered all banks to freeze all bank accounts of Nazrul Islam Mazumder and his wife.

It may be recalled that The Asian Age published an investigative report based on solid evidences, authentic facts and figures and reliable sources in November 2019 titled "Monster Behind Spoiling Banks". This report angered Nazrul Islam Mazumder so much so that he filed two fabricated defamation cases against the top management of The Asian Age. Unidentified hoodlums a couple of days later visited The Asian Age press and threatened to shut down the newspaper's publication. However, both the above defamatory cases were later on discarded by the High Court.

Powerful intelligence agencies of that time that were sold out to Nazrul Islam Mazumder intimidated and harassed over and over again the reporters, officials and editorial board members of The Asian Age. Moreover, Nazrul Islam Mazumder forced The Asian Age to disable the above report on his corruption and irregularities from the newspaper's website with direct backup from ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's office and some branded intelligence officials of that time who were infamous for human rights violations, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.

Nazrul Islam Mazumder was an obnoxious land-grabber too. He forcibly seized plots and houses in various parts of Dhaka city with the formidable power of his illegally fattened coffers and some felonious intelligence officers. Nazrul Islam Mazumder also occupied a house in unauthorized ways which belonged to the owner of AR Jute Mills. These squalid wiles by Nazrul Islam Mazumder were reported by some newspapers during the previous years but nothing happened to him during the overthrown Awami League government's tenure because he managed to fold up inside his wallet Sheikh Hasina, her cabinet members and some influential espionage officials.

Finally, as Nazrul Islam Mazumder was arrested a couple of days ago, prominent citizens, bankers of different ranks and files and patriotic citizens have expressed relief and delight.