HC: Probe allegations of 459 Bangladeshis’ assets in Dubai

The High Court (HC) on Sunday directed authorities concerned to look into the allegations of properties purchased by 459 Bangladeshi nationals in Dubai, UAE.

The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat asked four government agencies to submit a progress report on the investigation in a month, after hearing a writ petition filed by a Supreme Court lawyer Subir Nandi.

The agencies are the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and National Board of Revenue (NBR).

The court also issued a rule asking authorities concerned to explain their inaction in investigating the allegations.

Besides, the business daily newspaper "Banik Barta" was asked to submit proof of its news report on the Bangladeshi nationals' undisclosed assets as well.

Advocate Subir Nandi filed the writ petition with the HC on Thursday (12 January) seeking its directive on the matter, attaching the news report.

According to the Banik Barta report, published on 10 January, a huge amount of money has been transferred to Dubai from different parts of the globe, including Bangladesh, overtly and covertly.

Based on a report from the US-based Centre for Advanced Defense Studies, the EU Tax Observatory said 459 Bangladeshis have purchased thousands of properties, worth approximately one billion US dollars, in Dubai concealing the information from their own country. 

According to the report, A total of 972 properties were purchased in Dubai till 2020. Bangladeshis are the top buyers in the real estate sector of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The UAE is now trying to boost foreign investment and offering various facilities for rich people from abroad to buy properties.

Experts believe that huge amounts of money are being transferred due to the lack of effective and strong measures to stop money laundering, the report said.