Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit has frozen the bank accounts of Premier Bank chairman HBM Iqbal and four of his family members, and their companies.
The anti-money laundering intelligence on November 11 sent a letter to all banks to comply with the instruction immediately.
The BFIU letter stated that any bank accounts operated in the name of HBM Iqbal, wife Anjuman Ara Shilpi, his sons Moinuddin Iqbal and Ikram Iqbal, and daughter Naurin Iqbal and their companies are to be suspended under the Anti-Money Laundering Act for 30 days.
Moinuddin, Iqram and Naurin are the children from his first wife Momtaz Begum. Momtaz Begum passed away on June 28, 2022.
Multiple sources said that Iqbal married actress Anjuman Ara Shilpi privately in around 2021.
Banks and financial institutions have been instructed to submit information regarding their bank accounts (account opening forms, KYC, and transaction details), ongoing loan details (customer name, loan account number, current status, classification), suspicious import or export bills, and locker-related information to the BFIU within two business days.
On September 24, the Anti-Corruption Commission initiated an inquiry against former Awami League lawmaker and the chairman of the Premier Bank, HBM Iqbal, over allegations of amassing illegal wealth through corruption.
According to the ACC, HBM Iqbal, a former lawmaker for Dhaka-14 constituency, amassed a huge amount of illegal wealth at home and abroad in the past 13 to 14 years.
He has been serving as the chairman of Premier Bank for 13 consecutive years since 2011 through abuse of power, the ACC said.
There are also allegations that Iqbal built Renaissance Hotel Gulshan, Hotel Hilton, founded Royal University of Dhaka, and became a member of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies through abuse of power.
Over a period of time, the AL leader owned numerous companies and acquired a huge amount of wealth by holding various positions in these organisations, the ACC added.
