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The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has instructed banks to freeze the accounts of more than 100 individuals and organisations, including former ministers, lawmakers and businesspeople, over allegations of financing and supporting garment workers’ protests.
The list reportedly includes Beximco Group owner Salman F Rahman, former commerce minister Tipu Munshi and owners of several leading industrial groups, according to multiple senior NBR sources.
The Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) of the NBR sent an urgent email directive to all banks across the country on Thursday (November 5), sources said.
They said the process of suspending transactions in the accounts was initiated based on intelligence information, and banks had already received the list of individuals and organisations concerned.
Earlier, at an NBR event on Tuesday, Chairman Ahsan Habib said the CIC and the income tax intelligence wing were taking steps to freeze the bank accounts of 34 individuals and 34 families for a specific reason. However, multiple NBR sources said the number could exceed 100 as additional names had been included in the initial list.
Sources said some of the accounts on the list had already been frozen following requests from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) or other agencies. The list is being updated regularly.
Among those named are Tipu Munshi, founder of Sipal Group; Salman F Rahman, owner of Beximco Group and former adviser to then prime minister Sheikh Hasina on industries and private investment; and former lawmaker and Envoy Group Managing Director Salam Murshedy.
The list also reportedly includes Shahriar Alam, owner of Renaissance Group and former state minister for foreign affairs; Nasrul Hamid Bipu, owner of Hamid Group and former state minister for power and energy; and former local government minister Tajul Islam, founder of Fabian Group.
Other business figures named include Tusuka Group Managing Director Faizur Rahman Badal, Well Group founder Abdus Salam, Nipa Group Managing Director Khosru Chowdhury, Axis Knitwears Ltd Director Zahid Ahmed Tulu, Standard Group Managing Director AKM Mosharraf Hossain and Givenchy Group Chairman Masuma Khatun Lipa.
The reported list also includes former lawmaker Ilias Uddin Mollah, former BGMEA president and Dhaka North City Awami League General Secretary SM Mannan Kochi, and Jahangir Alam, a former personal assistant to Sheikh Hasina. They are accused of providing financial support for garment workers’ protests in the Mirpur area.
Several other people allegedly linked to the Awami League have also been included based on intelligence information. They reportedly include Alif Mollah, a nephew of Ilias Uddin Mollah; Mahbubur Rahman Jewel, an associate of Jahangir Alam; local Awami League activist Kamal Gazi; and a person identified as Shuvo.
Recently, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said at the Secretariat that former ministers, state ministers and lawmakers linked to a banned political organisation had instigated the ongoing unrest in the garment sector. He also said the government had information and evidence suggesting that some industrialists were involved.