BRPD asks banks to freeze DMCSL accounts

The Anti-corruption Commission on Tuesday appointed investigators to probe alleged money laundering by Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited which had diverted clients’ savings to its sister concerns ‘illegally’.
Officials of the anti-graft body said deputy director Mozahar Ali Sarkar and assistant director Tawfiqul Islam would investigate the alleged irregularities by DMCSL, a subsidiary of the multi-level marketing company Destiny Group.  
Banking Regulation and Policy Department of the Bangladesh Bank has asked the commercial banks to freeze the accounts of the suspected company and its officials.
The powerful department gave the directive for further investigation against the DMCLS on the basis of a previous inspection report by the BB.   
ACC chairman Ghulam Rahman said the commission had launched the probe as it could not overlook the alleged irregularities by the company. ‘We have to take cognisance of the newspaper reports based on a Bangladesh Bank inspection,’ he said.
ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told New Age on Tuesday that the investigators should submit a preliminary report in 30 working days.
As part of the investigation, the officers can seek court order to freeze the bank accounts of the company and its officials, he said, adding that they were also empowered to seize documents of the company. 
The investigators would also have the preliminary findings of money laundering in the much-talked-about BB report. 
Khurshid Alam said the ACC had prosecuted Unipay2u, a multi-level marketing company, in January 2011 following same procedures.
ACC filed money laundering cases against Unipay2u for collecting Tk 2.46 billion from people after luring them into a hoax promising higher benefits.
The cases are now under trial.
The BB inspection report found that DMCSL collected Tk 5.2 billion in savings from its clients illegally as of June 30, 2011. Of the amount, 94.30 per cent is long-term savings that is totally illegal.
DMCLS is registered with the Department of Cooperatives and cannot collect savings like a bank.   
The company also enjoys tax waiver for its registration with the cooperative department, but a banking company is supposed to pay 42.5 per cent tax on its profit.
In this way the DMCSL evades tax which is also linked with money laundering.
Besides, the BB inspection report also found that the DMCSL had diverted Tk 1.8 billion to 13 its sister concerns, including Destiny Developers Limited, Configure Housing Limited, Destiny 2000 Limited, Destiny Silver Town and Destiny Diamond City.
Such fund transfers are also illegal, said the BB report. 
Banking Regulation and Policy Department of the BB had investigated the financial fraudulence of ITCL, a multi-level marketing company, nine years ago.
It issued public statements after ITCL failed to give satisfactory reply to the quarries by the BRPD. Besides, cases were filed by the BB against the company and its executives.
An administrator was also appointed by the BB to refund the money to the clients.
The National Board of Revenue on Tuesday asked commercials banks to provide it with details of the transactions of Destiny Group, its sister concerns and directors of the companies. The NBR, earlier, launched an enquiry to scan tax files of the group to find whether the companies were involved in tax and duty evasion.