Bangladesh court orders probe into ex-bank chairman's alleged $25 million money laundering

The High Court has directed the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to decide within 30 days on an application requesting an investigation into allegations that former Eastern Bank chairman Shawkat Ali Chowdhury laundered $25 million from the UK to the UAE. The court issued a rule demanding explanations from the ACC and the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) regarding their failure to act on information reportedly supplied by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA).

The NCA allegedly uncovered the $25 million held under Chowdhury's name while investigating assets purportedly siphoned off by former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury. According to Barrister HM Shanjid Siddique, a lawyer for the writ petitioner, the NCA received "no satisfactory explanation" regarding the legitimate source of these funds.

The writ petitioner, Supreme Court lawyer AHM Rezawanul Sayed, had submitted separate applications to the ACC and BFIU on August 12 and 13, urging investigations into the allegations. However, neither authority had responded, Siddique noted.

The bench of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Md Hamidur Rahman passed the order and issued the rule following the writ petition. Senior lawyers Mohammad Ali and Syed Mamun Mahbub, along with Shanjid Siddique, represented the writ petitioner during the hearing.

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No satisfactory explanation