The financial accounts of the well-known British tea company owned by former MP Kazi Nabil Ahmed and his brothers present a unique window into how wealthy Bangladeshis transfer their funds to the United Kingdom through financial hubs in Asia.
Kazi Nabil Ahmed and his brothers - Kazi Anis Ahmed and Kazi Inam Ahmed who are in charge of Gemcon Group - own Kazi & Kazi Tea. At a hearing held before the Royal Courts of Justice in London on 12 April, 2024, said that they were the only investors in a UK company.
However, a startling finding appears in the business's bank accounts for the years 2020 to 2021, there was not a single transfer from Bangladesh to the UK enterprise. Rather, the funds invested in the UK company originated from firms based in Singapore and Dubai, where Anis owns a stake.
Nabil's international business ventures are not mentioned in his affidavit that he filed to the Election Commission before the national elections. However, he disclosed to the UK court that he made an investment in the UK company.
There have been several reports of capital flight from Bangladesh to offshore tax havens amidst stringent money movement regulations.
Transcripts of the UK court session, which an English daily received, now reveal that Nabil and his two brothers fought for an injunction against a business partner residing in the UK, preventing him from disclosing whether or not Bangladeshi money-laundering regulations were broken in the establishment of their enterprise.
According to information acquired by the English daily, Gemcon Group was not included in the list of businesses that the Bangladesh Bank authorised to move money outside between 1971 and 2023.
The Anti-Corruption Commission is now looking into Nabil's fortune. Nabil's income surged by more than 1,000% after the 2018 elections, according to his affidavit submitted prior to the 2024 national elections.
Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB) has found that Nabil has taken Tk900 crore loans from several banks, ranking him among the top five lawmakers with the highest amount of loans. He invested Tk24 crore in company shares, he said.
An English newspaper obtained a copy of the financial statements that the £2.7 million (Tk 39.5 crore) British company Teatulia UK Ltd recently submitted to the ACC. The UK business is an offshoot of Teatulia, a larger corporation headquartered in Delaware, a US state with a tax haven reputation due to its lax tax laws.
The Teatulia founded by Nabil, Anis and Inam on 29 November, 2007, is a Denver, Colorado-based company that imports and sells tea from Bangladesh. According to business records, Linda Appel Lipsius, a US citizen, was added in 2010.
According to corporate filings, the three brothers invested more than $18 million (Tk215 crore) to the business till November 2020. Nearly Tk254.5 crore is the total worth of their foreign investment in Teatulia businesses in the US and the UK.
Strict capital controls in Bangladesh, however, completely limit who, where, and how much may be sent overseas.
N Hamilton, the lawyer for Nabil, Anis and Inam, told the court as saying, "My clients were actually investors in Teatulia (UK). That was where all the money came from."
Hamilton did not reveal the source of the funding his clients used to invest in the business.
The investments came from Dubai-based Double Core General Trading LLC and Aramex International, as well as Singapore-based Global Biz Import Export Pte Ltd, according to Teatulia UK's financial accounts filed with the ACC.
The English daily listed out ten transactions in total from 2020 to 2022.
According to Teatulia UK's liquidation report following the company's 2023 closure, Double Core is an investor that is owned by Anis, Canadian citizen Mohammed Sohail Rana and an Emirati named Abdulla Hassan Ali. Records from the UAE National Economic Register and a copy of the company's commercial licence also support the claim. It is situated in the Deira Al Murar residential area. Anis owns the majority shares of the company.
The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore has records stating that the Singapore-based company Global Biz Import Export is a clearing house or commission agent controlled by a Bangladesh national named Sheikh Mohammad Wahiduzzaman Ripon, residing in Malibagh of Dhaka.
The company's profit for 2020 was a meager £25,247, said the liquidation report of Teatulia UK. The enterprise alone spent £500,000 on refurbishments before to opening for business.
BRAND FOR WHAT GOALS?
According to court filings, the company's UK counterpart was incorporated on 22 August, 2017, and it began operations on 27 September, 2018, with Nabil and his brothers serving as its only investors. Ahsan Akbar, their British business partner, worked as a director.
The enterprise pertained to a tea café situated at 36 Neal Street in Covent Garden, London. In addition to being a wholesale tea location, the firm also offered as an event facility for private parties, author events, and movie screenings, according to its liquidation record filed with the ACC.
As per court documents, the goal of the London venture was to promote Bangladeshi tea's uniqueness.
During the hearing on whether to grant Nabil and his brothers an injunction against their business partner, Judge Justice Sir Robert Jay of the UK High Court informed the lawyers representing Nabil and his brothers that there is information that "might have the tendency to embarrass your clients because it puts them in a poor light in relation to Bangladeshi money laundering regulations".
British business partner Ahsan’s lawyer Chloe Strong argued that there is a "ban on Bangladeshi nationals possessing foreign companies unless they get approval from the central bank" and that "essentially it can amount to a breach of money laundering regulations in Bangladesh by doing so without the relevant approval".
Hamilton, Nabil's attorney, insisted that they were the sole investors while denying allegations that money laundering regulations in Bangladesh were flouted.
Nabil and his brothers were not granted the injunction by Justice Jay. On 22 July, however, they received the injunction after appealing the ruling.
When contacted, Nabil and Inam did not respond to the English daily’s queries. However, their lawyer Ivon J Sampson cited the reasons of their reluctance to respond as saying, "would defeat the whole object of them obtaining the injunction in the first place which is to prevent the publication of private and commercial information about them".
"We categorically reject any wrongdoing. Our tea's global brand was established by foreign investment. Good brands and companies in Bangladesh should ideally be able to enter international markets,” said Kazi Anis in response to the queries.
He went on saying, “Our aim of making a brand like Teatulia, and other initiatives like sponsorship of Dhaka Lit Fest was to showcase Bangladesh to the world in a positive light.”
