Around Tk 10 million (Tk 1 crore) has been found in the name of a house help of Saiful Alam, the owner of business conglomerate S Alam Group. The house help Marjina Akhter used to work at the house of this controversial businessman based in Chattogram. Tax officials have found a fixed deposit of Tk 10 million (Tk 1 crore) in the name of Marjina Akhter.
An investigative team from tax zone-15 of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has been investigating tax evasion by the S Alam family. While carrying out investigations, they found this money in a bank account opened under the name of Marjina Akhter.
According to sources of the officials, house help Marjina Akhter hoarded Tk 10 million (Tk 1 crore) through 22 fixed deposits at the Panchlaish SFA Tower branch of Islami Bank in Chattogram city. These fixed deposits were opened on 4 February this year.
To begin with, Tk 450,000 (Tk 4.5 lakh) on average was deposited in each of the FDRs. Now Tk 470,903 (Tk 4.7 lakh) has accumulated with interest against each of the FDR. Based on that calculation, Tk 10,359,866 (Tk 1.03 crore) is stored in the 22 FDRs at the Islami Bank under Marjina Akhter’s name.
Tax officials are surprised to find more than Tk 10 million in the bank account of a domestic help. They have already started the process of seizing this money. Tax officials believe that this money may not even belong to Marjina Akhter. Probably the account has been opened under her name just to deposit the money there.
Apart from that, another bank account of Marjina Akhter has been traced in a branch of First Security Islami Bank located at Prabartak Mor intersection in Chattogram city. The account was opened in January 2012. Documents show that a total of Tk 18.4 million (Tk 1.84 crore) has been transacted through that account in 12 years till this 27 August. Money has been deposited and withdrawn from that account at various times. Officials said that there is no money left to withdraw in that account at present.
Reportedly, Marjina Akhter has served as a house help at the residence of S Alam family located in Shugandha residential area in Chattogram city for over 12 years. According to the documents submitted in the bank, Marjina Akhter’s address is shown as Meghna Bhaban, Parade Corner, Chawkbazar. The accounts were opened in two banks using her National Identity Card.
Both the Islami Bank Bangladesh and First Security Islami Bank were owned and controlled by S Alam Group. Bangladesh Bank has recently re removed the board of directors in these two banks and appointed a new board in their places.
Saiful Alam himself was the chairman of First Security Islami Bank and his son Ahsanul Alam was the chairman of Islami Bank. After the fall of the Awami League government, these two banks were freed from S Alam’s grip.
A cell phone number of Marjina Akhter is provided in the documents of First Security Islami Bank. Several calls were made to that number to inquire about the transactions and deposits of large sums of money through her accounts in those two banks. Yet, the cell phone number was found switched off every single time.
Commissioner of tax zone-15 Ahsan Habib told Prothom Alo that efforts are on to collect due taxes from the tax evaders. As part of that, bank transaction information of S Alam family members as well as people linked to them falling under tax zone-15 is being inspected. The money in Marjina Akhter’s name was found during this investigation, which seems unusual.
Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina left the country in the face of the student-people mass uprising on 5 August. S Alam Group is one of the major business groups that have benefited the most during the regime of Sheikh Hasina’s government. There have been allegations of various crimes including money laundering and taking control of banks against Saiful Alam and his family members in the last one decade. There was state and political patronage behind that.
The bank account details of the members of the S Alam family (Saiful Alam, his wife Farzana Parveen, mother Chemon Ara, brother Abdullah Hasan and their children) and of the companies owned by them in any commercial or financial institutions, national savings directorate and in the directorate of posts were summoned from tax zone-15 in the second week of last August.
Of them, the tax officials have already received details from Islami Bank, Exim Bank, Commerce Bank, Al-Arafah Islami Bank, First Security Islami Bank and National Bank. Leaving Exim Bank out, all the other five banks were under S Alam Group’s control. According to the information of those six banks there is Tk 259.65 billion (Tk 25,965 crore) deposited (fixed) in the names of S Alam family members and the companies owned by them.
Apart from that, about Tk 1,090 billion (Tk 1.09 lakh crore) has been deposited in the accounts under Saiful Alam and his family members’ names in those banks within the last five years. Majority of this is actually loan money. Meanwhile, there a cash deposit of Tk 14.49 billion (Tk 1,449 crore) in the bank account of Abdullah Hasan.
There are allegations against S Alam Group of taking loans from banks in their own name or anonymously and then embezzling that money to siphon off abroad. Reportedly, there are loans worth Tk 2,000 billion (Tk 2 lakh crore) under S Alam group’s name.
Alongside the investigation on income tax evasion, the Customs, Excise and VAT Commissionerate in Chattogram is investigating allegations of VAT evasion against 18 companies of the S Alam conglomerate. The audit team is expected to submit its primary report this month.