Standard Chartered Bank is not cooperating with the Anti-Corruption Commission’s investigation into alleged overseas money laundering, as the multinational lender continues to withhold key banking records despite repeated formal legal notices.
The graft watchdog has sent a strongly worded reminder to the bank after failing to obtain crucial financial documents linked to an inquiry into suspected illicit cross-border fund transfers involving businessman Showkat Ali Chowdhury, chairman of SN Corporation.
In its latest letter dated 29 January, the commission warned that failure to provide the requested information could constitute a punishable offence under the ACC Act.
The ACC wrote that under Section 19(3) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, “if any person obstructs the commission or any officer lawfully authorised by the commission in exercising powers under sub-section (1), or wilfully disobeys any direction issued under that section, such act shall constitute a punishable offence, and the person concerned shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or to a fine, or to both.”
The records were sought as part of an investigation into suspicious financial transactions and the alleged use of shell companies to move funds abroad.
According to ACC records, the first request was sent on 4 December last year, seeking detailed statements of all accounts held in Chowdhury’s name, account-opening forms, customer identification records, internal approval documents, and full details of domestic and foreign transactions. The bank failed to provide the information within the stipulated timeframe.
On 11 January, the commission expanded the scope of its inquiry through a follow-up letter, seeking records of accounts held in the names of Chowdhury’s wife Tashmia Ambarin, his children Zara Namreen and Md Zaran Ali Chowdhury, and other close relatives.
The ACC also requested transaction trails involving family members, bank accounts of related local and foreign entities, and documentation indicating whether enhanced due diligence had been carried out.
Commission officials say family-based financial networks are often used to obscure the movement and ownership of illicit funds.
Despite the second letter, the ACC says it received no documents, disrupting the investigation and prompting the latest legal warning.
Investigators suspect the delay may be deliberate. An ACC official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told TIMES of Bangladesh that a report by the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) had identified compliance failures by Standard Chartered in transactions linked to Showkat Ali.
According to the BFIU report, multiple foreign transactions involving Chowdhury and associated individuals and entities were processed without adequate enhanced due diligence, despite such checks being mandatory under Bangladesh Bank regulations.
The financial intelligence unit flagged weaknesses in verifying beneficial ownership, sources of funds and transaction purposes, particularly in dealings involving high-risk jurisdictions such as the British Virgin Islands.
Investigators believe the documents now sought from the bank could clarify whether there was active facilitation of money laundering or serious compliance failures in preventing it. The ACC is examining whether this explains the continued delay in submitting records.
Repeated phone calls and text messages to Standard Chartered Bangladesh Chief Executive Officer Naser Ezaz Bijoy went unanswered. He did not respond by the time of filing this report on Monday evening.
The latest ACC letter directs the bank to submit all documents by 5 February. Failure to comply may lead to legal action against responsible bank officials.
Md Mustafizur Rahman, ACC deputy director and head of the investigation team, told TIMES of Bangladesh that the commission is continuing efforts to obtain all relevant records from Standard Chartered Bank.
In its correspondence, the ACC alleged that nearly Tk8,000 crore in suspicious transactions passed through accounts linked to Chowdhury and his family members. The probe also covers alleged irregularities in scrap vessel imports through letters of credit and the use of shell companies to siphon funds abroad through corruption and abuse of power.
