Moosa wants to bring €20b in Bangladesh

HM Murtuza | Published: 00:25, May 21,2019 | Updated: 01:57, May 22,2019

 
 

Moosa Bin Shamsher

Private business firm DATCO chairman Moosa Bin Shamsher, who grabbed the headlines time and again claiming to be a multi-billionaire, has applied for permission to bring about €20 billion to Bangladesh claiming that international arms business earned him the money.
Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit chief Abu Hena Mohammad Razi Hasan told New Age on Monday that they found nothing wrong with the proposal and there was no bar to the bringing of the money.
‘We have assessed the proposal of Moosa based on the source of earnings and other specifications mentioned in the proposal,’ he said, adding that any change in the proposal might result in different opinion.
‘So far, we have found no barrier in the existing laws including the Money Laundering Prevention Act, to the bringing of the money in the country,’ he said.
‘We would now inform the department concerned about our opinion and they would take action as per their own decision,’ the unit chief said.
Moosa, who faced Anti Corruption Commission interrogation in 2014, applied to the finance ministry in March 2019 for permission to bring the money, said Bangladesh Bank officials.
The money includes Moosa’s business derived from his business with the Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, died in June 2017, said the letter signed by Moosa.
He also claimed that bringing the money would not be a matter of great hassle.
Repatriation of the fund to Bangladesh would also benefit the county as well as his family and himself, Moosa mentioned in the letter.
His business partner Adnan Khashoggi before his death left a will giving Moosa the money, said the letter.
The ministry forwarded the letter to the central bank’s foreign exchange investment department for further scrutiny, said the central bank officials.
Finally, the proposal of Moosa was forwarded to the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit to examine if there was any barrier to the bringing of the money under the anti-money laundering act or any other laws.
The Anti-Corruption Commission in December 2014, interrogated Moosa over his alleged involvement in amassing huge money earned through illegal means.
After the three-hour interrogation, Mossa told reporters that he was now trying to release $12 billion from his account at the Swiss Bank in Switzerland.
He also denied the allegation of amassing illegal wealth. ‘It is true that about Tk 51,000 crore has been frozen at the Swiss Bank, but I did not launder the money out of the country,’ Moosa said.
The Bangladesh Bank also found that Moosa had no bank account in Bangladesh.


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