For more than four years, an office assistant earning a modest salary of Tk 40,000 per month had astonishing sums flow through his bank account.

Financial records reveal that Tk 250 million was deposited into the account over this period, while a sum of Tk 205 million was withdrawn, reports bdnews24.com.

The highest single deposit recorded was Tk 45 million, while the largest one-time transfer amounted to approximately Tk 20 million.

On another occasion, eight deposits amounting to a total of Tk 30 million were made in a single day through the account.

The account, opened at the Karwan Bazar branch of ICB Islamic Bank Limited on Aug 19, 2020, has long operated beyond the prescribed transaction limits without scrutiny.

Despite the unusually large sums moving through it, no concerns had been raised—until now.

A shift in the political landscape has brought new oversight, with the bank’s current administration flagging the account’s activity for the first time.

The bank has now classified these excessive transactions as “suspicious” and reported them to the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, or BFIU.

In response, the regulatory body has acknowledged receipt of the information and stated that it will launch an investigation into the matter.

The account holder in question is Mobarak Hossain, an office assistant at the Dhaka-based law firm Rahat Khalil & Associates.

When the administrator of ICB Islamic Bank flagged the suspicious transactions on Dec 15, 2024, Mobarak’s account held a balance of Tk 42.5 million.

Bank records indicate that from the account’s opening to Dec 15, 2024, more than Tk 248.8 million had been deposited.

Over the course of four years and four months, withdrawals totalled Tk 206.2 million.

A peak deposit of Tk 45 million was recorded in a single transaction on Sept 24, 2021, followed by eight separate deposits amounting to Tk 30 million on Apr 6, 2023, all made through cheques.

On Mar 14, 2024, a transfer of nearly Tk 20 million was made.

A bank official said that Mobarak had initially cited real estate dealings and stock trading as additional sources of income when opening the account.

However, he failed to provide any supporting documentation, and the bank did not verify the source of the substantial funds during the major transactions.

The issue came to light after Bangladesh Bank declined to renew the tenure of Shafiq bin Abdullah, who had served as managing director of ICB Islamic Bank for 11 years.

Shafiq was removed following allegations of financial irregularities, and his successor, Bangladesh Bank Director Md Mojibur Rahman, raised concerns over the bank’s previous lack of oversight.

On Jan 7, he formally submitted a Suspicious Transaction Report, or STR, to the BFIU, urging the agency to investigate.

In a letter to the BFIU, Rahman wrote: “According to KYC (Know Your Customer) guidelines, the account holder is a salaried employee but has regularly conducted transactions beyond the prescribed limit, which appears suspicious.”

“No suspicious transactions were reported by the branch previously, nor was the matter submitted to the BFIU for investigation.”

When reached for comment, Mojibur said: “I sent this report after joining the bank. The BFIU has been asked to verify the matter.”

“If an unusual transaction occurs, it should be reported. The BFIU must determine whether this was a violation, and if so, why the previous management failed to address it.”

BFIU chief M Shahinul Islam confirmed that the agency would investigate but declined to disclose further details.

“Our job is to examine suspicious transactions. If such a report is received, we will take necessary action,” he said.

Mobarak, an office assistant, or peon, when contacted, acknowledged that the account belonged to him but claimed that the law firm’s founder, Rahat Khalil, had used it for bank-related dealings.

“Sir [Khalil] gave money from my account to ICB Islamic Bank’s MD, Shafiq bin Abdullah, because at the time, the bank lacked sufficient funds to pay salaries before Eid,” Mobarak said.

“So, sir sent money from my account. I don’t know anything beyond that.”

16 ‘SUSPICIOUS’ TRANSACTIONS

According to the letter sent to Bangladesh Bank, 16 “suspicious” transactions between January 2021 and March 2024 were flagged.

During this period, the account saw deposits totalling nearly Tk 138 million through 21 transactions, while approximately Tk 157 million was withdrawn or transferred in 39 separate transactions.

The largest volume of activity was recorded in January 2021, when Tk 26 million was deposited in three transactions, and Tk 34 million was withdrawn in seven.

Of the 16 “suspicious” transactions, Tk 30 million was placed into the account twice in May 2022, while another Tk 30 million entered the account via eight transactions in April 2023.

In September 2022, Tk 23.2 million was withdrawn in three transactions, while in March 2024, Tk 26.75 million was removed from the account in three separate withdrawals.

Despite the account repeatedly exceeding regulatory limits for large-scale financial movements, the bank’s former managing director failed to report the transactions to Bangladesh Bank, as required under financial disclosure rules.

TRANSACTIONS EXCEEDING LIMITS

From the moment Mobarak opened his bank account until December 2023, his financial activity appeared to exceed the constraints set by the institution overseeing it.

Despite being granted a deposit limit—commonly referred to as a TP limit—of Tk 5.9 million, the amount funnelled into his account during this period swelled to an astonishing Tk 138 million.

A similar pattern emerged on the withdrawal front.

While Mobarak’s account had been subject to a transfer or withdrawal ceiling of Tk 4.75 million, the actual outflows from the account dwarfed that limit, reaching Tk 137 million.

However, the pattern did not end there.

In January 2024, Mobarak sought to expand his transaction limits, prompting the bank to authorise a revised cap: Tk 62 million for deposits and Tk 18 million for transfers.

Within three months, by March, the constraints were shattered yet again, as he was permitted to transact an unprecedented Tk 26.7 million.

WERE THE TRANSFERS MADE TO ‘PAY SALARIES’ OF ICB ISLAMIC EMPLOYEES?

When asked about the large transactions made through his account upon visiting his office in the capital’s Karwan Bazar, Mobarak said that his boss Khalil had deposited money into his account to “pay salaries” of ICB Islamic Bank employees.

Mobarak, who claimed to have little to no prior knowledge of the transactions, pointed to Khalil for clarifications.

His employer and Supreme Court lawyer Khalil acknowledged his longstanding association with ICB Islamic Bank, where he has served as legal counsel since 2003.

He explained that during the bank’s recent liquidity crisis, he had also been affected, going months without receiving his legal fees.

“Before Eid-ul-Fitr, ICB Islamic Bank was unable to pay its employees. At that time, I managed to secure Tk 15 million from another source,” Khalil said.

“I provided them with the money, but due to the ongoing liquidity crisis, they could not reimburse me.”

According to Khalil, the bank’s former managing director Shafiq had repeatedly approached him for financial assistance.

“Shafiq asked me to lend him money at different times,” Khalil said.

When asked why these funds were funnelled through Mobarak’s account, Khalil offered an unusual explanation: “Shafiq bin Abdullah asked me to give it from a customer’s account. Because doing so would reflect a higher fund balance.”

Khalil did not elaborate on the rationale behind this approach but alleged that Shafiq was “forced” to resign by other bank officials.

While Khalil claimed to have facilitated a loan of Tk 15 million, Mobarak’s bank records suggest otherwise.

Between March and April 2024, a total of Tk 35.5 million was deposited through five separate transactions—far exceeding the sum Khalil admitted to handling. Eid-ul-Fitr that year fell on Apr 10, 2024.

Claiming to have a good relationship with Shafiq, Khalil said: “When the bank faced a liquidity crisis after COVID-19, Shafiq bin Abdullah asked me to lend him money. After that, I lent him money during different times.”

Khalil further alleged that the current leadership of both Bangladesh Bank and ICB Islamic Bank was engaged in a “conspiracy” against him and Shafiq. “They are trying to trap us,” he said.

Shafiq relocated to Malaysia after his tenure as managing director was not renewed. When contacted, Shafiq confirmed having requested and received Tk 25 million from Khalil.

However, when asked about the remaining Tk 220 million deposited into Mobarak’s account, he abruptly ended the call.

“I don’t want to comment on this anymore. Why did you call me?” he said before hanging up.