Jumbangla Desk: In 2016, Bangladesh Bank's reserves of 100 million dollars disappeared like camphor. And this incident is more or less known to all of us. However, many people do not know what happened in the investigation of the incident, including the use of force by two influential former ministers of the Awami League government.

Reserve of Bangladesh Bank

Last September 10 was the 79th day of filing the report of this case. However, due to political changes, the investigation officer said that even if the report could not be submitted to the court, an application will be made soon for the next day of submission of the report.

Earlier, a high-level meeting was organized under the leadership of the then Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal in the small conference room of the Home Ministry on November 1, 2020. The then Law Minister Anisul Haque was present in that meeting. The topic of discussion that day was the theft of Bangladesh Bank's reserves in 2016. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police had almost completed the investigation into the incident by then. But at that very moment these two ministers, the then two secretaries of the Public Security Department of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Finance Department of the Ministry of Finance exerted pressure on the investigating agency to change the course of the investigation. They ordered the names of native criminals to be omitted from the inquiry report.

However, CID investigators then said that there is no opportunity to exclude the names of native criminals from the report. Because, evidence and evidence of direct involvement of many of them have already been collected.

However, the pressure of those concerned does not stop. At some point the level is increased further. A change was brought about in the leadership of the CID. Besides, important evidence of the case forensic report and interim investigation report were also directed to be handed over to Bangladesh Bank's Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU).

And to disagree with it is a hindrance. Three officers of the CID involved in the investigation were transferred in phases. Additional Special Superintendent of Police was assigned as the new investigation officer. To Abdullah Al Yasin.

He was pressured by the Home Ministry through the then CID chief Muhammad Ali Mia to drop the names of the native criminals. At the same time, a three-member committee was formed to control the results of the investigation. Through that committee, the forensic and interim progress report of the investigation was handed over to the financial intelligence agency Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU). Later, the investigation and prosecution of the theft of reserves stopped there.

After that is just a long line. So far, CID has not been able to submit the investigation report to the court despite taking 79 times.

According to related sources, the CID received information and evidence about foreign criminals from the Philippines and India within October 2020. Accordingly the charge sheet was prepared but it was not allowed to be submitted. On the contrary, a high-level meeting led by two ministers was pressured to drop the names of native criminals. The crucial forensic report of the case was taken by the accused central bank officials themselves, though only the court had jurisdiction to receive the report.

Talking to the investigators at that time, it is known that at the last stage of the investigation of the case, Atiur Rahman, the 12 officials of the Central Bank accused in the reserve theft and the former governor, became active in changing its course. The then Home and Law Minister took a supporting role in this. In addition to them, some officials of the Central Bank and Attorney General's Office also pressured them to drop the names of the Bangladeshi criminals and give the charge sheet to the court.

Later, if this did not work, on Thursday, October 29, 2020, BFIU informed the then head of CID, Barrister Mahbubur Rahman, that a high-level inter-ministerial meeting would be held on November 1 on the progress of the reserve theft investigation. Investigators are asked to be present there. However, no written letter regarding the meeting was given to CID at that time. The then Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal called the CID chief and instructed him to attend the high-level meeting.

Following this, Raihan Uddin Khan, investigating officer of the case, CID Special Superintendent of Police Mustafa Kamal and CID Chief Barrister Mahbubur Rahman went to the small conference room of the Ministry of Home Affairs to participate in the meeting. In the meeting room, then Law Minister Anisul Haque, Senior Secretary of Public Security Department of Home Ministry, Mustafa Kamal Uddin, Senior Secretary of Financial Institutions Department of Finance Ministry. Asadul Islam, Central Bank Governor Fazle Kabir, BFIU Chief Abu Hena Moha. Razi Hasan, former advisor of BFIU Debprasad Debnath, joint director of BFIU Mohammad Abdur Rab, representative of Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed former Additional IGP Mainur Rahman Chowdhury and Home Minister PS Dewan Mahbub were present.

Raihan Uddin Khan investigated the reserve theft case for 7 years from the beginning. Currently he is working as Superintendent of Police (promoted to the post of Additional DIG) in Chittagong.

When asked about this, he told the media that after the investigation of the case of theft of reserves, all the information related to the crimes of local and foreign criminals were collected continuously. Especially in 2020, almost all foreign information comes to our hands. That's when the full preparations for filing a police report began. Maya Santos Deguito, a former branch manager of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), was convicted in a Philippine court based on the evidence we gathered. Besides, 34.6 million dollars were recovered out of 101 million dollars stolen from the reserve at that time. At that time, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLAC) of the Philippines told us that if we can file a police report with the identification of local and foreign criminals in the Bangladesh court and issue an arrest warrant for RCBC Bank, it will be easy to recover the entire amount. Accordingly we start the work of giving police report of reserve theft cases. But due to pressure from the top levels of the Home and Law Ministries and non-approval of the forensic report, the process was shelved.

Raihan Uddin Khan also said that after the forensic report is approved in 2023, we will finally start the process of submitting the police report of reserve theft. But even then Bangladeshi criminals were asked to drop their names. I was transferred if I did not agree. Until then, all the signs and information collected in the investigation of the theft of reserves are preserved through two levels of security and handed over to the new investigating officer.

Senior lawyer Ahsanul Karim thinks that it is necessary to know why the investigation into the theft of Bangladesh Bank's reserves was blocked by the order of the two ministers. He said, CEED has investigated in Bangladesh. So far 79 times have been taken but no charge sheet has been given. It is heard that the then Law Minister and Home Minister insisted that no charge sheet be given and no Bangladeshi should be included here.

The senior lawyer further said, "It is not clear to us whose interest it is in not submitting the charge sheet." They should know why the CID could not give the charge sheet even after preparing it and why they were pressured.

Senior lawyer ZI Khan Panna said, the governor, deputy governor of Bangladesh is responsible for this. An investigation has been done, and I want to see it in public. And criminals who are arrested need to be brought to justice as soon as possible.

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Incidentally, a special meeting was held at the CID headquarters last July 14 regarding the investigation progress of the reserve theft case. Ajmalul Hossain QC, then BFIU chief Masud Biswas and others were present there.