The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has initiated 17 legal cases against Salman F Rahman, the founder vice-chairman of Beximco Group, and 27 other individuals, accusing them of embezzling approximately $83 million (about Tk1,000 crore) through money laundering activities masked as export transactions.
According to the CID’s investigation under the Money Laundering Prevention Act, Salman FRahman, alongside his brother ASF Rahman, who is the chairman of Beximco Group, and other affiliated parties, is alleged to have facilitated the export of goods through 17 Beximco-owned companies from 2021 to 2024.
These transactions were carried out through 93 Letters of Credit (LCs) and sales contracts from the Janata Bank PLC’s local office in Dilkusha, Motijheel.
However, the corresponding export proceeds, amounting to approximately $83 million, were not repatriated to Bangladesh as required by law but were instead diverted abroad.
The investigation revealed that the goods were exported to various countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Turkey, and Sri Lanka.
Notably, a significant portion of the exports was directed to RR Global Trading (FZE), a company co-owned by Ahmed Shayan Fazlur Rahman and Ahmed Shahriar Rahman, in Sharjah, UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
The accused are alleged to have systematically evaded the repatriation of export earnings, breaching provisions of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012.
In addition to these charges, Salman F Rahman and his associates are under investigation for alleged financial irregularities involving loans amounting to approximately Tk33,470 crore, which were purportedly diverted abroad.
This separate inquiry into financial crimes is ongoing at the CID’s Financial Crime Unit in the Motijheel Police Station, Dhaka.
