Bank accounts of Mostafa Kamal, family frozen

The bank accounts of Mostafa Kamal, owner of Meghna Group, his wife Beauty Akhter, and their children have been frozen.

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), the financial intelligence agency of Bangladesh Bank, on Wednesday (10 April) issued instructions in this regard, sending letters to all banks and financial institutions in the country.

Alongside this, instructions were given to freeze the accounts of any sole proprietorships operated in their names.

Under Section 23(1)(c) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012, transactions through the accounts held by Mostafa Kamal, his wife, and their children have been suspended for an initial period of 30 days. Authorities have also been asked to submit detailed information on the bank accounts of any sole proprietorships owned by them.

The directive states that all personal accounts of the mentioned individuals, their spouses, and children, as well as the accounts of institutions in which they have interests, must be reported.

According to an intelligence report, Mostafa Kamal embezzled Tk79,762 crore through under-invoicing in imports between 2000 and 2020, and misappropriated over Tk1,519 crore from National Insurance by bypassing mandatory insurance policies for dutiable items like motor vehicles and vessels. Additionally, he evaded over Tk1,000 crore in government VAT, stamp duty, and bank commissions.

Mostafa Kamal reportedly used his close ties with the Awami League government, which lost power in the July uprising, to engage in money laundering and other unethical activities. He also encroached on Meghna River land to build industrial establishments and disrupted the river’s natural flow by landfilling.

Moreover, Meghna Group currently owes Tk16,768 crore in loans from 31 banks and three financial institutions across its 55 companies.

The largest debt is with Sonargaon Seed Crushing Mills Limited at Tk4,311 crore, followed by Meghna Sugar Refinery Limited with Tk3,018 crore, Sonargaon Flour & Dal Mills Limited with Tk1,300 crore, Meghna PVC Limited with Tk1,125 crore, and Meghna Re-Rolling & Steel Mills Limited with Tk985 crore.