BFIU goes tough on Thermax Group over illegal money transfer

 
Financial sources have informed that Thermax Group and another few notorious business conglomerates illegally transferred to foreign countries approximately USD 20 billion during the ousted Awami League regime from 2009 to 2024. Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur has told journalists that contacts are underway with foreign countries in order to retrieve the laundered funds. A lot of people's bank accounts and assets have been seized who committed financial vices like money laundering during last 15 years, BB top functionaries have stated.

BB Governor Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur put forward the above points on Tuesday while unveiling the report for 2023-2024 fiscal year from Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU). BFIU officials said that inquiries on the financial scams and frauds by Thermax Group are at the closing level. Thermax Group's corruption in the financial and banking sectors will be published soon and further actions will be taken, BFIU stated. 

BFIU is scrutinizing Thermax Group Chairman Abdul Kadir Molla's close connections with huge financial irregularities and banking rampage. Abdul Kadir Molla siphoned away more than 8 thousand crore taka from different banks in Bangladesh and transferred all these stolen funds to overseas locations through unauthorized channels. BFIU has meanwhile freezed all bank accounts belonging to Abdul Kadir Molla. Two former BB Governors Fazle Kabir and Abdur Rauf Talukder explicitly collaborated with Abdul Kadir Molla in paralyzing banks with enormous defaulted loans, according to allegations from BFIU.

BFIU chief AFM Shahinul Islam said that money laundering and hundi took place at a formidable pace during the immediate past government's ruling period. It may be recalled that The Asian Age published a number of reports during the past years on the anarchy and white collar robbery done by Thermax Group Chairman Abdul Kadir Molla in the country's banking system. Illegally acquired cash enabled Abdul Kadir Molla to rise from a tiny meter reader to one of the wealthiest men in Bangladesh by unfair means while overthrown Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was in power.