Letter asking for transaction information of top five businessmen including Salman F Rahman, Ahmed Akbar Sobhan

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has written to banks and financial institutions seeking information on the transactions of Beximco, Orion, Bashundhara, Summit and NASA group owners and their family members.

A letter has been sent to the Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) of NBR on Thursday (April 22).

Beximco Group Chairman Salman F. Rahman, Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, Orion Group Chairman Obaidul Karim, NASA Group Chairman Nazrul Islam Majumder and Summit Group Chairman Abdul Aziz Khan and their related parties have sent letters to various banks and financial institutions seeking information on their transactions.

The letter mentions that the Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) of the National Board of Revenue has launched a special investigation of tax evasion against individuals and institutions who have acquired large amounts of illegal wealth through various means.

CIC has compiled the list of potential tax evaders based on the review of various news reports and specific classified information. Punitive action will be taken against these individuals and institutions in addition to recovery of evaded tax by conducting proceedings under Income Tax Act, 2023 and Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2012.

In continuation of this, NBR's Central Intelligence has investigated/discovered income tax evasion information of Beximco Group leader Salman F Rahman, Nasa Group Chairman Nazrul Islam Majumdar, Summit Group Chairman Muhammad Aziz Khan, Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan and Orion Group Chairman Obaidul Karim and their related persons. Cell (CIC) has already started functioning.

Letters have been sent to various banks, financial institutions, Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Savings, etc. The special investigation conducted by the CIC will continue.

Earlier on Wednesday, NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan held a meeting with CIC officials. In the meeting, it has been asked to investigate tax evasion by collecting all the information related to income tax, VAT, customs of these five industrial groups for the last few years. Apart from this, it is said that the import and export of the companies owned by these groups will be reviewed.

After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, the bank accounts of many including former ministers were seized and summoned. In that continuation, the bank accounts of the mentioned traders have been summoned.

Bangladesh /SBT