NBR starts investigating financial accounts of influential people including Aziz, Taposh

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has launched investigations against a number of influential people, including former army chief General (retd) Aziz Ahmed and former Dhaka South City Corporation mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh.

Their bank accounts are being subpoenaed on charges of tax evasion and money laundering, said sources at NBR.

The list of influential people under NBR investigation also includes former Election Commission secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed, former Bangladesh Bank deputy governor Sitanshu Kumar Sur Chowdhury and journalist couple Shakil Ahmed and Farzana Rupa.

Names of influential people who allegedly evaded tax and laundered money are constantly being added to this list for in-depth investigation based on complaints.

So far, NBR has written to financial institutions and banks asking for the account details of about 10 people, said sources.

The Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) of NBR has sent letters to 83 organisations including some banks and financial institutions to investigate complaints against those people.

In the letters sent to banks and financial institutions, CIC asked for information about all financial transactions of the accused people.

The intelligence cell will also conduct a physical investigation of the income tax documents of all of their immovable properties including land, houses, cars, flats and tangible properties.

CIC will also scrutinise the accounts of the accused persons’ family members, close associates, and companies.

Sources said NBR has received over a hundred persons’ names aside from the people they are currently investigating. CIC has submitted the list to NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan, which in turn was sent to Finance and Commerce Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed for approval. The finance ministry is working to prepare a flawless list, which might be approved soon.

Special emphasis will be given this time to find the immovable assets of the accused. The accuracy of the statement of assets given in the income tax documents will be verified.

Taposh allegedly extorted money from footpath vendors

Former Dhaka South City Corporation mayor Fazle Noor Taposh has been accused of regularly collecting large sums of money from markets and footpath shops through people under his influence.

There are also rumours that he formed a syndicate with some engineers. The racket looted hundreds of crores of taka through recruitment frauds, embezzlement of project money, forgery of fake bill vouchers, and tender fraud.

This member of the Sheikh family is controversial for various reasons, including the acquisition and smuggling of large amounts of wealth at home and abroad through the abuse of power, and misbehaviour with a former chief justice.

Former army chief General (retd) Aziz, who fled the country in the face of anti-discrimination movement, has been accused of various irregularities, including corruption, and immoral activities through abuse of power during fascist Awami League regime.

Helal Uddin, a sycophant officer of the Awami League government, is also included in the NBR list of accused embezzlers. His fertile imagination produced the idea of “nightly votes”, through which the ruling party candidates had been made victorious. In 2018, a dark chapter in the country's history was written as rigged elections were held under his leadership.

Before that election, he was accused of rigging polls in various ways and embezzling money in the process of purchasing electronic voting machines.

Also, there are allegations that people in the NBR list abused Awami League government’s power, laundered crores of taka abroad, and acquired huge properties in foreign countries. It is also alleged that they have helped the Awami League government to prolong their illegal power to continue their illegal money making process.