Massive land, bank frauds of Rongdhanu’s Rafiq unearthed

Rongdhanu Group Chairman Rafiqul Islam and his family members have fraudulently obtained about Tk1,370 crore by selling the same land properties to different people and mortgaging those to three banks.

Rafiq and his son Kawser Ahmed Opu first sold their land. Later, he made fake deeds by arranging the purchase and sale of the same land among his family members. He then exchanged the land under fake deeds with different people and organisations via ewaj deeds.

He took loans by mortgaging the land that he got through ewaj deeds to Union Bank's Gulshan branch as well as the Bashundhara branch of Social Islami Bank and First Security Islami Bank.

A media investigation has revealed Rafiq’s massive fraud involving land buying and selling as well as bank loans. On the one hand, he fraudulently acquired Tk945 crore from three banks.

Of this, he took Tk475 crore from Social Islami Bank, which now stands at Tk725 crore, including principal and interest. He obtained Tk270 crore from First Security Islami Bank, which has now increased if interest is considered. Besides, he took Tk200 crore from Union Bank, which has also gone up if interest is considered.

The amount he owes to Social Islami Bank is more than Tk1,620 crore, including principal and interest. He is about to become a defaulter for not paying loan instalments.

The same land properties have been mortgaged for dishonestly obtaining this huge amount of money from the three banks between 2017 and 2023. Rafiq sold most of the properties either before or after taking the loans. On the other hand, he mortgaged the properties to banks and sold them to different people by concealing the mortgage information.

He has obtained Tk425 crore through this fraud. The banks are now in uncertainty over getting back the loans due to his fraud. Besides, the banks do not know where he has invested the loans. On the other hand, the common people who bought the land properties are apprehensive about the loans, fake deeds, and illegal occupation.

Experts believe bank officials may also be involved in Rafiq’s swindle. Otherwise, how did he take loans by showing sold land? And how did he sell mortgaged land after taking loans?

Banks carry out a physical inspection of the land that they want to accept as mortgage. How did they determine the value of the land properties without such inspections? Besides, they are supposed to contact the land registration office to verify ownership.

Experts questioned whether the banks did not follow the rules while giving loans to Rafiq. They think if Rafiq sold the land properties, made fake deeds by showing the sale and purchase of the properties again among family members, and then took land from someone by exchanging the land mentioned in the deeds through ewaj deeds, there is no legal basis for that.

This is because the land he is exchanging with other people’s land is not under his ownership. Similarly, there are complexities if banks keep sold land as mortgage. Confusions then arise over whose land the banks kept as mortgage and who they gave loans to. Besides, if someone buys land that is mortgaged to the bank, he is also in trouble.

How Rafiq defrauded 3 banks of Tk945 crore 

The media investigation revealed that Rafiq borrowed Tk475 crore from Social Islami Bank in the name of Rongdhanu Builders (Pvt) Ltd and Mehdi Mart in five rounds. On 18th of 2017, he took Tk60 crore. On 30 August that year, he took Tk85 crore. On 18 May 2019, he took Tk215 crore. On 15 July 2021, he took Tk30 crore and on 29 September 2022, he took Tk 85 crore. He now owes about Tk725 crore, including principal and interest, to the bank due to repayment irregularities.

Rafiq took a loan of Tk270 crore from Bashundhara branch of First Security Islami Bank on 22 July this year. The loan was taken in the names of Rafiq, his son Mehedi Hasan Dipu, Kawser Ahmed Opu, and daughter-in-law Maliha Hossain. Besides, on 26 August 2021, Rafiq borrowed Tk200 crore from Union Bank’s Gulshan branch. The loan was taken in the names of Kawser Ahmed Opu and Rafiq.

The investigation revealed that Rafiq mortgaged 16.5 decimals of land in Joarsahara mouza (CS and SA 3259; RS 9595; City Survey 38007) to Social Islami Bank’s Bashundhara branch on 18 April 2017. The mortgage deed number is 3984. After eight months of mortgaging the land, on 30 December 2018, he sold it to the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre through Saf Kabala deed number 11934.

Rafiq took another Tk85 crore loan from Social Islami Bank on 30 August 2017. Against the loan, he mortgaged 38.08 decimals of land in Joarsahara mouza (CS and SA 3285, 3359, 3370; RS 10017, 10015, 10014; City Survey 48817, 48594, 48595). The mortgage deed number is 9549. On 22 June 2023, he mortgaged the aforementioned land properties to First Security Islami Bank though those were already mortgaged to Social Islami Bank.

The investigation showed Rafiq committed the fraud with the help of his family members. Of the properties, 0.363 acres (CS and SA 1946, 1921; RS 7514, 7516; City Survey 19121, 19133) shown in the ownership of his son Kawser Ahmed Opu were mortgaged to Social Islami Bank. The mortgage deed number is 8679. On 30 August 2017, the land was mortgaged to Social Islami Bank. However, he sold the land to Md Zakir Hossain on 27 December 2020 by giving an organisation the power of attorney.

Also, Rafiq’s son Kawser Ahmed Opu sold 66.8 decimals of land in Naora mouza of Narayanganj (RS 1146, 327, 5635, 47, 249) to Tasfia Ahsan Zaita on 18 January 2020. The land sold to Zaita was re-sold to her father Rafiq Islam on 11 October 2020 through Saf Kabala deed number 7474, and a fake deed was also made.

After that, the land sold to Zaita was shown under the ownership of Rafiq and exchanged with a private organisation through ewaj deed to take new land. Rafiq borrowed about Tk230 crore from Social Islami Bank and Union Bank by mortgaging the land obtained through the ewaj and fake deeds.

Rafiq took a loan of Tk215 crore from Social Islami Bank on 8 May 2019 through the mortgage deed number 4719. Against the loan, he mortgaged 39.6 decimals of land in Vatara mouza (dag 19133, 19020, 19132). He gave a private organisation the power of attorney two years after mortgaging the land.

Rafiq used not only his sons but also his daughters-in-law to commit fraud. He was the owner of 0.61 acres of land in Naora mouza of Rupganj (deed no 11761). He sold 0.15 acres to Md Akbar Hossain on 3 March 2016 for Tk2.96 lakh.

He then sold 0.15 acres of the remaining 0.46 acres to Tamrin Mujib on 27 September 2016. The deed shows Tamrin also bought the land for Tk2.96 lakh. In addition, Sahana Akhter Khanam bought 0.15 acres on 5 January 2016.

After selling 0.45 acres of land via three separate deeds, Rafiq owned only 16 decimals. But on 1 February 2017, he made a fake deed by showing the sale of the entire 61 decimals to his daughters-in-law Maliha Hossain and Humaira Nuzhat. The 0.61-acre land in Naora mouza in Rupganj was exchanged with a company for a 0.634-acre land in Joarsahara mouza via ewaj deed on 14 February 2017.

A few days after the sale of the land to Maliha Hossain and Humaira Nuzhat, on 26 February 2017, Maliha made heba deeds of 31.7 decimals of the property in the name of her husband Mehedi Hasan Dipu and another 31.7 decimals in the name of Humaira Nuzhat’s husband Kawser Ahmed Opu.

Rafiq’s daughters-in-law, after giving the land in the fake deeds to their husbands, first showed 63.4 decimals of land in the names of Rafiq’s two sons and mortgaged it to Social Islami Bank on 8 May 2019. Later, the same land was mortgaged to First Security Islami Bank on 22 June 2023.

Besides, Rafiq had 0.1553 acres of land (Dhaka City Survey 3008) in Vatara mouza, which he sold to Tamanna Sultana on 23 February 2022. The deed number is 2808. However, 16 months after the sale of the land, on 22 June 2023, Rafiq, his son Mehedi Hasan Dipu, Kawser Ahmed Opu and daughter-in-law Maliha Hossain mortgaged it to First Security Islami Bank.

Malik Imran bought plots 551, 552, 556, 557, and 558 of E block in Bashundhara Residential Area from Rafiq. When asked about this, his lawyer Malay Roy said, “After it was reported in the media, we came to know that Rafiq took loans from First Security Islami Bank by mortgaging our land.”

He said, “We wrote a letter to the bank in the first week of December, informing them that Rafiq is not the owner of the land. The bank authorities have assured us of taking action soon.”

This correspondent tried to contact Managing Director of Social Islami Bank Zafar Alam several times over the phone to talk about Rafiq’s fraud. The bank’s Senior VP and Head of Brand Communication Moniruzzaman Tipu was also contacted. But none of them made any comment.

A top official of Social Islami Bank said on condition of anonymity that Rafiq’s fraud had come to the attention of the bank. “The legal wing of the bank has already been instructed to take action against him.”

Union Bank’s Senior Vice President and Manager of Gulshan branch Md Monirul Islam said he knows nothing about the matter.