A Dhaka court has ordered the freezing of £5.3 million held in a Jersey bank account linked to Nazrul Islam Mazumder, the prominent chairman of Nassa Group and former head of EXIM Bank. Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Shahjahan Kabir issued the directive following an urgent application by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), which is investigating the systematic siphoning of approximately 35,000 crore taka (£2.2 billion) from 26 domestic banking institutions.
The frozen capital is held at a UBS Bank branch in the offshore jurisdiction of Jersey under the account of One Investments Limited. Established on 17 May 2019 in the Isle of Man, the entity opened its Jersey account on 2 October of the same year. Financial intelligence compiled by the ACC indicates that Mazumder and his wife, Nasrin Islam, are the ultimate beneficial owners of the shell enterprise. Unsettled by the risk that these assets might be transferred beyond legal recovery during ongoing investigations, anticorruption officials sought immediate judicial intervention to secure both the account and associated real estate properties tied to the firm.
A Web of Loans Across 26 Banks
For years, Mazumder wielded immense authority across Bangladesh’s financial landscape. As the long-standing chairman of the Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB), an influential trade association of commercial bank owners, he maintained deep political ties with the former Awami League government. Industry insiders report that he used this leverage to pressure peer institutions and dictate administrative decisions, creating a formidable presence within the sector.
Investigations reveal that companies under the Nassa Group umbrella—primarily focused on ready-made garments and textiles—secured extensive credit lines across state-owned and private commercial banks. In one prominent instance, over 2,100 crore taka was channelled to Nassa entities from a single institution, with nearly 998 crore taka disbursed under special discretionary terms. Rather than utilizing these funds for operational expansions, evidence suggests a practice of debt recycling, where capital drawn from one lender was routinely deployed to settle overdue obligations at another.
Trade Manipulation and Offshore Expansion
Financial forensic teams are examining trade-based money laundering schemes allegedly employed to move loan proceeds abroad. These methods included over-invoicing imported raw materials, under-invoicing exported apparel, and intentionally leaving export earnings in foreign jurisdictions.
Through these mechanisms, capital was systematically redirected into private bank accounts and corporate entities incorporated across the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, Jersey, and Hong Kong. Law enforcement agencies continue to trace the complete scope of these international holdings as judicial proceedings progress.
