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The names of three banks in Bangladesh have also been mentioned in leaked Finsen Files documents on suspicious transactions. Of the three banks, Islami Bank Bangladesh and Social Islami Bank (SIBL) received money from abroad. And money has been sent abroad from the state-owned Rupali Bank.
A total of 8 lakh 32,938 dollars has been made in the eight “transactions” of these three banks (at the current exchange rate in Bangladeshi taka, which is more than taka 6 crore). The documents show that these transactions took place between 2014 and 2016.
Last Sunday, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), an alliance of investigative journalists, leaked about 2,500 documents of suspicious transactions from various banks in the hands of the Financial Crimes Execution Network (Finsen).
The documents, known as the ‘Finsen Files’, were shared with the International Organization of Journalists (ICIJ) after BuzzFeed News reported citing reports of suspicious activity or SARS reports from the United States and various banks. Several international media outlets, including the BBC, Al-Jazeera and Reuters, reported on the matter.
According to the report, BuzzFeed News has received more than 2,100 documents. In total, more than ২ 2 trillion were allegedly traded between 1999 and 2016, according to the ICIJ report. The world’s top five banks are mentioned in the documents: HSBC, JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered, and Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon).
Several banks sent information about these transactions to Finsen between 2000 and 2016. More than 2 trillion have been transferred in these transactions, the source and purpose of which are in doubt, the banks told Finsen.
If there is any suspicion about a transaction, banks report to Finsen in the form of a confidential report, which is called Suspicious Activity Reports. In all these cases, money laundering or illicit activities have not been proven.
After BuzzFeed News obtained these secret documents, they turned them over to the ICIJ. These documents were then delivered to 108 media outlets in six countries, which are being published step by step under the name ‘Finsen Files’. Standard Chartered and the US-based Bank of New York Mellon Corporation have acted as international media in the eight suspicious transactions reported by three banks in Bangladesh on the ICIJ website. They told Finsen they had questions about the eight transactions.
Kazi Osman Ali, managing director and chief executive officer of Social Islami Bank, said they were investigating the matter. Referring to the matter earlier, Kazi Osman Ali said: ‘This is a consignment, I don’t think the matter is suspicious. That money went to one of our good clients. He is still our client and a businessman by name. Those remittances come to us.
And Islami Bank authorities said that what was said of their transaction was money from export earnings. The money of that organization was not in question in this transaction. The organization is a good organization in the country.
On the other hand, Rupali Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Obaid Ullah Al Masud was contacted several times, but the bank could not be reached for comment.
Abu Hena Mohammad Razi Hasan, head of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BIFU), told the Dhaka Times that US financial intelligence had investigated the matter.
The head of BIFU said: “There are no criteria for suspicious transactions. They are considered remittances, personal, exports or donations. In this case, it is examined who sent it, whether it was a banned organization or not.
Dhaka Times / September 23 / DM
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