CID litigates against ex-Padma Bank chairman

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has lodged a money laundering case against former Padma Bank chairman Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat and three associates over allegations of siphoning Tk1,613 crore.
According to CID’s initial findings, Sarafat and his associate obtained a licence in 2008 to run Race Management PLC, an asset management company.
Between 2008 and 2013, the firm took charge of managing 10 closed-end mutual funds now expanded to 13 and allegedly exploited these funds for illegal personal gain, the CID said in a press release issued on Friday.
The CID notice specified that these mutual funds were used for illegitimate personal interests by Nafiz Sarafat and his associates. Together with his wife Anjuman Ara Shahid and other family members, Nafiz Sarafat allegedly colluded with Dr. Hasan Taher Imam, the principal figure of RACE, and invested fund assets through fraud and deception to purchase shares of the then Farmers Bank (now Padma Bank). He later secured a position on the bank’s board of directors, and, with the direct support of Sheikh Hasina, even became the bank’s chairman.
It is further alleged that, through strategic maneuvering, Chowdhury Nafiz Sarafat placed his wife Anjuman Ara Shahid on the board of Southeast Bank as well. It is known that, as Dr. Hasan Taher Imam did not consent to these actions, Nafiz Sarafat attempted to seize RACE’s shares using the then Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed and certain corrupt officials of RAB and DGFI, subjecting Dr. Imam to cases and administrative harassment.
Sarafat allegedly used Padma Bank’s funds to invest in various strategic equity funds via companies linked to him, including Padma Bank Securities. The probe uncovered extensive forgery and fraudulent activities—such as the opening of BO and bank accounts, acquisition of RAJUK plots, and establishment of multiple companies—which investigators say facilitated the laundering of funds abroad.
Growing allegations on social and mainstream media ranging from pressuring Best Holdings for Tk500 crore bond investments to laundering money overseas and buying luxury properties prompted CID’s Financial Crime Unit to launch the investigation.
CID identified 78 bank accounts operated under the names of Sarafat, his wife, their son Raheeb Safwan Sarafat Chowdhury, and associated individuals and entities. These accounts recorded deposits totalling Tk1,809.75 crore and withdrawals of Tk1,805.58 crore. Only 21 accounts remain active, holding a combined balance of merely Tk29.21 lakh.