Md. Zahidul Islam

There was a time when Monirul Islam of Noakhali struggled to make ends meet. He worked day and night in the hope of finding some relief, but never found prosperity. Today, however, he is allegedly worth thousands of crores of taka. His rise, according to allegations, was driven not by hard work but by money laundering through hundi, tax evasion, moneylending at interest, extortion, land grabbing and syndicate business.

Mr Monirul was a political leader during the fascist regime and allegedly one of the key operators involved in laundering money for politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen. It is alleged that more than Tk 20,000 crore was laundered through him over the past 20 years. Complaints in this regard have recently been submitted to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), National Board of Revenue (NBR) and Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU). Responsible sources said the agencies are moving to jointly investigate the allegations.

According to the complaint, Mr Monirul was the cashier for influential Awami League figures, including fugitive Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader; former IGPs Benazir Ahmed, Shahidul Haque and Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun; former Gazipur mayor Jahangir Alam; FARS Group Chairman Akram Hossain Humayun; former Premier Leasing director Barrister Nasir Uddin; former Sonaimuri upazila Awami League president Monirul Islam Baker; former ASP Moazzem; Hundi operator’s associate Siddiqur Rahman; and Additional Secretary Md. Abdaur Rahman.

The complaint alleges that these influential figures were the source of Mr Monirul’s power. They allegedly provided administrative approval, financial support and patronage for irregularities and helped strengthen syndicates.

Mr Monirul himself allegedly amassed thousands of crores of taka while acting as a cashier. He once lived a struggling life at Bhanuai Miah Bari in Noakhali but later moved to the affluent Gulshan area of Dhaka. It is alleged that he took control of a 3,500-square-foot duplex apartment after allegedly driving its original owner to suicide. The apartment is located at VTi Pinnacle, Road No. 60, House No. 13/B, second floor. His children reportedly study at reputed English-medium schools.

Mr Monirul has allegedly built a vast property empire. His reported holdings include 20 bighas of land in Bagher Bazar, Gazipur; several hundred bighas in Sonaimuri, Noakhali; 10 kathas in the Tejgaon Industrial Area; 10 kathas in Bashundhara Residential Area; 10 kathas in Purbachal; five kathas in Dhaka Housing and five kathas in Dhaka Udyan, both in Mohammadpur; and five kathas in Narayanganj.

He also allegedly owns a flat at Aziz Cooperative in Shahbagh, a multi-storey building in Mirpur, another at Agamasi Lane in Bangshal, several commercial buildings in Sonaimuri, a shop at Police Plaza in Gulshan and a shop in Postogola. He reportedly has at least Tk 100 crore in fixed accounts at various banks across the country.

It is further alleged that Mr Monirul controls nearly half of the land in Sonaimuri. Khaja Hotel, Chowdhury Market, the former NCC Bank building, All Square Hospital, the former Mizan Super Market, Eastern College, Residential School and Life Shine School are among the establishments allegedly under his control.

Victims alleged that despite building a vast network of corruption and irregularities with government patronage, those who spoke against him faced harassment instead of him facing action.

Mr Monirul allegedly laundered money through hundi throughout the previous government’s tenure. The money reportedly went to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries. The alleged total amount exceeds Tk 20,000 crore. Meanwhile, the government had to seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other donor agencies to deal with the weakened economy.

He has allegedly been involved in land grabbing through fraud, embezzlement of government funds and illegal auctions. He also allegedly controlled moneylending businesses, leaving many ordinary people financially ruined and harassed.

Hafiz Ahmed, who had been in business for three decades, reportedly took a Tk 5 crore loan from Monirul. Although he repaid nearly Tk 18 crore, including interest, in 2022, Monirul allegedly threatened him and filed false cases in an attempt to take over his entire business. Hafiz subsequently filed a case, but the dispute remains unresolved.

Mr Monirul allegedly formed a cadre group called the Chhakka Group to extort money and grab land. Local residents of Gazipur said he was the chief intermediary of Tulip Territory. Although he became an accused in a murder case after August 5, he has remained at large.

The complaint alleges that although the ACC, NBR, BFIU, CID and other law-enforcement agencies were informed, investigations stalled because of Monirul’s influence.

Many victims allegedly filed general diaries (GDs) at police stations after receiving threats from the Chhakka Group. The Monirul group also allegedly harassed entire families and filed false cases against them.

Victims have demanded strong government action to recover the money allegedly laundered through Mr Monirul and prevent further losses to the country. They called for the seizure of his bank accounts, properties and passport, speedy trials in land-grabbing cases, investigation into illegal moneylending and protection for victims’ families.

They also called for a joint investigation committee comprising the ACC, NBR and BFIU to bring Mr Monirul to justice.

An NBR senior official, speaking to the Daily Inqilab on condition of anonymity, said, “Many people became extraordinarily wealthy during the previous government. Investigations are under way against many of them. If his actual assets exceed those declared in his tax records, it will constitute an offence under the law. After verifying the allegations, legal action will be taken against him.”

When contacted about the allegations of irregularities and corruption, Monirul Islam told the Daily Inqilab, “These are completely false from A to Z. This is a smear campaign against me. A vested-interest group is spreading these allegations.”