Tk821 crore laundered in name of export by 33 garment companies

The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate uncovered evidence of money laundering amounting to approximately Tk821 crore under the guise of exports. The agency has filed money laundering cases against 33 garment companies involved in these activities, most of which are based in Dhaka and Gazipur.

Evidence has been found of money laundering through 13,817 shipments made by these companies. After a six-month investigation conducted in three phases starting in January last year, Customs officials discovered these fraudulent activities.

Sources indicate that these garment products were exported from 2017 until May last year, during which the money laundering took place. Although the companies exported goods worth Tk933 crore through 13,817 shipments, they only brought Tk111 crore back into the country. The remaining Tk821 crore was laundered to 25 countries, including Singapore, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and Canada, using fake export documents.

Customs officials, upon analyzing the documents, found that the companies declared the value of the goods at least ten times lower than their actual value and labeled the exported items as "sample" products. This manipulation meant that no revenue was generated for the country from these exports.

The investigation revealed that multiple groups were involved in the money laundering. For instance, Asia Trading Corporation, a Dhaka-based buying house, shipped 14,085 tons of T-shirts and pants worth Tk308 crore to the UAE, Singapore, and Malaysia in 2022, but no foreign currency was brought back to Bangladesh from these transactions. The company labeled all 1,342 shipments in the export documents as "sample products."

According to customs regulations, no revenue is generated from the export of sample products. Similarly, the Gazipur-based company Hong Kong Fashion exported 1,160 tons of goods worth Tk43.21 crore to seven countries, including the UAE, Canada, and Malaysia, between January 2022 and May last year. However, they brought back only Tk12.73 crore, with the remaining Tk30.48 crore laundered.

Sources report that of the Tk821 crore laundered, approximately Tk600 crore was funneled to the UAE, Malaysia, and Singapore. The remaining amount was sent to 22 other countries, including Canada, Australia, Belgium, Qatar, Spain, Kuwait, the Philippines, Sweden, Russia, Panama, Thailand, Georgia, and Palestine. The companies used the names of at least 12 commercial banks in the export documents.

According to information from the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate, of the Tk821 crore laundered, around 10 RMG factories were responsible for laundering nearly Tk300 crore under the guise of exports.

Of the 33 companies, 29 used this method to launder money. These include Asia Trading Corporation, Sabiha Saiki Fashion, Imu Trading Corporation, and Ilham, which used Code-20 to ship at least 1,780 consignments between January 2020 and December 2022. Typically, sample products weigh between 10 kg and 100 kg, but each of these shipments weighed more than 10,000 kg. Due to a lack of proper monitoring or verification, these shipments left Chittagong Port without any hindrance.

Mohammad Fakhrul Alam, Director General of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate, said that a case has been filed in connection with the laundering of Tk821 crore under the guise of exports, and a money laundering investigation is also underway against the companies.