Staff Reporter :
More than Tk 134 crore were deposited to the bank accounts of journalist Munni Saha beyond her salaries. Of the amount, Tk 120 crore were drawn at different times from the accounts. Now, the balance in her frozen accounts is Tk 14 crore.
Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has found the amount in the bank accounts of Munni Saha, her husband Kabir Hossain Taposh and their business establishment — MS Promotions Ltd. Besides, a duplex house has been found at 165, Roza Green at Shantiniketan in Gulshan-Tejgaon Link Road area in the Capital.
During an investigation, the BFIU has found that an account was opened at Kawran Bazar branch of ONE Bank Limited on May 2, 2017 in the name of MS Promotions owned by Munni Saha’s husband Kabir Hossain Taposh where Munni Saha’s name was mentioned as the nominee.
On the other hand, an account was opened at Khatunganj Branch of ONE Bank Limited on July 21, 2004 in the name of Messrs Prime Traders Limited owned by one Mahfuzul Huque. A total amount of Tk 51.50 crore were taken from the bank as loans in the names of MS Promotions and Prime Traders Limited.
Instead of repaying the loans, both the entities managed to secure waiver of interest and renew the loan amounts. A whopping Tk 25.78 crore of interest was waived in 2017 alone. Though there is no mutual business relation between the two entities, huge amounts of money were transacted between the accounts of those at different times.
Citing an example, the BFIU investigators found that Tk 56.50 lakh were transferred from MS Promotions to Prime Traders through three separate cheques on September 29, 2019 which was suspicious. The BFIU is investigating whether the amount was siphoned off.
