A dark trail of money laundering has been uncovered behind the ship-breaking industry on the country’s Chattogram coast.
Md Showkat Ali Chowdhury, chairman of SN Corporation, is orchestrated a vast financial scheme, exploiting the multinational Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) and deceiving international maritime authorities to launder money. But the scandal remained hidden, as Bangladesh’s intelligence agencies failed to detect the operation.
Official and international documents, obtained by TIMES of Bangladesh, reveal explosive evidence of money laundering by Showkat Ali, owner of one of the country’s leading ship-breakers.
Documents show, from 2017 to 2024, SN Corporation has transferred millions of dollars abroad under the guise of importing two ghost ships, vessels that do not exist in any port registry or maritime database. This fraudulent operation allowed Showkat to launder approximately $2.164 million, or Tk26.4 crore.
TIMES found the irregularities after examining import documents for 21 of the company’s 385 vessels.
Officials from the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) believe that further investigation into the remaining ships’ documentation may uncover additional laundering activities. However, the officials admitted their inability to act effectively against Showkat.
One of the ghost ships, MV Kai Hang-3, SN Corporation claimed to import as a 3,906-tonne container vessel at a price of $1.7 million. The company sent money abroad in early 2023 for this ship, citing IMO number 7435678.
However, investigations across various databases, including Vessel Tracker, Marine Traffic, and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), revealed that no vessel exists under that IMO number. The only matching vessel found was listed under a different IMO number, weight, and dimensions, proving the transaction was entirely fabricated.
TIMES tracked the laundering of funds linked to these ghost ships and found that the money was routed to Singapore.
Further scrutiny of Standard Chartered Bank’s records exposed another fraudulent transaction by the company. In February 2020, the bank’s Chattogram branch opened an LC for $464,253 for another purported ship import. However, no ship entered Bangladesh under SN Corporation that year, show government data.
The legitimate ship import by the company was in September 2019, when they brought in a 1,835-tonne Mongolian-flagged vessel, SW-2, costing around $700,000. The next confirmed purchase was in April 2021, when they bought a 10,156-tonne Liberian-flagged vessel, MV Rigel, spending $4.56 million. But the 2020 LC had no corresponding vessel, and the money disappeared.
In total, roughly USD 2.164 million, or about Tk26.4 crore, was laundered under the guise of two phantom ships. Their purchase prices were confirmed through the international NGO BerndU, which monitors global ship trading.
In June 2023, the BFIU began an investigation into Showkat’s alleged money laundering. The initial findings revealed that SCB had approved the LC for SN Corporation without proper verification but sent the money to an offshore company, Talent Mile Ltd, registered in the high-risk country like British Virgin Islands. This raised concerns that Showkat had set up a shell company network to launder funds abroad.
BFIU abandoned the probe half-way through.
Further investigation by TIMES uncovered another alarming case. In April 2024, SN Corporation imported an oil tanker named Suvarna Swarajya, flagged in St Kitts and Nevis. After crossing the Red Sea, the tanker’s tracking signal was mysteriously turned off as it entered the Suez Canal, and no further data on the vessel was recorded after 21 June 2024, according to vessel tracker records.
It was found that the tanker, deemed toxic and unsafe, deliberately disabled its tracking. It was then covertly beached at SN Corporation’s Unit-2 yard in Chattogram.
During dismantling of the phantom vessel, a massive explosion ripped through the yard on 7 September 2024, killing six workers instantly and leaving six others permanently disabled.
Official investigations revealed that no safety checks had been conducted before starting the cutting work. Local authorities cited flammable materials and poor safety conditions as causes of the explosion. Over the last decade, nine workers have reported died at SN Corporation’s yards.
Chattogram-based SN Corporation has been in the ship-breaking trade since 1984, owned by Showkat and his wife, Tashmia Ambarin. Showkat also chairs Eastern Bank Ltd – a position he legally cannot hold if found guilty of money laundering.
Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Arief Hossain Khan told TIMES, “If involvement in money laundering is proven, the central bank will take action under the law. This will include removal from the board, asset seizure, and legal action to recover the laundered funds.”
Between 15 October and 10 November, TIMES repeatedly tried to reach Showkat Ali Chowdhury by phone and text for comment on his shadow network of phantom-ship laundering. He did not respond, compelling this outlet to publish this report without his statement.
