ACC sues Sikder Group’s Ron, Rick for money laundering

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against seven, including Ron Haque Sikder, managing director (MD) of Sikder Group, and his brother Rick Haque Sikder, a former director of National Bank, on money laundering charges.

The organisation's director, Benazir Ahmed, filed two separate cases yesterday (1 April) at the ACC's district office and the High Court. 

The cases, filed under the Money Laundering Prevention Act, accuse the defendants of laundering a total of Tk71 crore, said Md Akhtarul Islam, ACC public relations officer.

The case file reveals Ron spent nearly Tk50 crore beyond the set limits of seven credit cards abroad between 2017 and 2021. 

He repaid these credit card debts from Bangladesh, effectively laundering money. 

The case alleges that the former Executive Vice President of National Bank Mahfuzur Rahman, former Managing Directors Shah Syed Abdul Bari, Chowdhury Mushtaq Ahmed, former Additional MD MA Wadud, and ASM Bulbul assisted in this money laundering.

Regarding Rick Haque, the ACC alleges that he spent Tk21.53 crore abroad using credit cards between 2017 and 2021 and repaid this amount upon returning to the country, thereby laundering the funds abroad.

The ACC's charge sheet says there is no provision to increase the spending limit of credit cards without a board meeting according to banking regulations. 

However, the accused increased Ron Haque's credit card spending limit in an irregular manner for his financial benefit.

Based on information from the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), the ACC found that Ron and the entities associated with him had 20 bank accounts in Thailand, and funds were transferred from the National Bank to those accounts. 

According to banking regulations, credit card bills must be paid within a specified period each month. However, as a director of National Bank, Ron misused his power and did not pay the outstanding amount for over a year, continuing his expenses through credit cards instead.

The ACC also stated the money Rick spent abroad using credit cards should have been included in the Credit Information Bureau (CIB) according to the rules. 

However, the accused, Mahfuzur Rahman, increased Rick's international credit card spending limit without informing the board of directors of National Bank or updating the CIB. 

According to the case details, Rick Haq Sikdar spent Tk21.53 crore beyond the prescribed spending limit on six credit cards.