Rongdhanu Group chairman sued over laundering Tk 8.78bn

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has filed a case against Rafiqul Islam, Chairman of Rongdhanu Group, and several associates on charges of laundering Tk 8.78 billion.

The case was filed on Thursday (August 7) at Gulshan Police Station under the Prevention of Fraud, Forgery and Money Laundering Act.

Following court orders, CID has also seized Tk 170 million from multiple bank accounts and 100,000 square feet of commercial space in Jamuna Future Park as part of the investigation.

According to a CID press release, the investigation revealed that Rafiqul Islam and his sons — Kawsar Ahmed Apu and Mehedi Hasan Dipu — were involved in large-scale land and financial frauds. They allegedly used Rongdhanu Builders Pvt. Ltd. to buy and sell land using falsified documents and power of attorney agreements.

On March 8, Rafiqul Islam’s sons sold 7.5 acres of land to the Bangladesh Police Officers Multipurpose Cooperative Society. However, CID found that over 6.15 acres of the same land had already been sold to East West Property Development Ltd., a subsidiary of Bashundhara Group, on June 1 of the previous year—earning Tk 573.6 million through fraudulent means.

The investigation further revealed that the accused embezzled Tk 2.7 billion from First Security Islami Bank and Tk 2 billion from Union Bank. These funds were obtained by submitting fake work orders for land development.

Additionally, a loan of Tk 4 billion was taken from Islami Bank’s Baridhara Branch using a fabricated appraisal report with inflated property valuations. The CID also found evidence of more than Tk 2.4 billion being laundered and invested in Antigua and Barbuda, allegedly to acquire foreign citizenship.