BFIU probes Ex-NRBC chair’s UK properties in loan scam
Graphics: Agamir Somoy
Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has discovered 16 houses and apartments in the United Kingdom registered under the name of Mohammad Adnan Imam, the former chairman of the Executive Committee of NRBC Bank.
BFIU Head Iqtiaruddin Md Mamun confirmed the matter to Agamir Somoy on Wednesday.
Adnan took a loan of Tk 315 crore from United Commercial Bank (UCB) in the name of his own organization, Genex Infosys, and diverted it to other sectors. BFIU’s investigation revealed that Adnan and the former chairman of UCB, Anisuzzaman Rony, are close friends.
Through mutual collusion, loans exceeding Tk 1,000 crore were granted to Genex Infosys from UCB for the purpose of laundering money abroad.
BFIU report said former land minister Saifuzzaman Javed is a fugitive abroad. Saifuzzaman is the brother of Rony. BFIU of Bangladesh Bank sent the investigation report to the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), recommending necessary measures to impose a ban on the transfer and sale of shares under Adnan’s control.
BSEC Executive Director Abul Kalam told Agamir Somoy, “The commission is taking action according to the law and rules after reviewing the issues mentioned in the BFIU letter”.
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman told Agamir Somoy, “Instead of relying only on efforts to return laundered money, the main routes of laundering must be closed. For this, signing the international Common Reporting Standard (CRS) agreement and enacting the Beneficial Ownership Transparency Act to identify the real ownership of anonymous companies is the demand of the hour.”
UCB provided funded and non-funded facilities worth Tk 315.20 crore to Genex Infosys. However, the BFIU report mentions that the borrower’s financial capacity, cash flow, actual business status, adequacy of collateral, and the effective monitoring of the use of loan funds were not properly scrutinized during the disbursement of that loan.
It said instead of being used for business purposes, the loan money was transferred to the accounts of related individuals and institutions, used to settle old debts, and utilized as down payments for loan rescheduling.
Through this, actual defaulted loans were concealed, and the institution’s true financial picture was hidden through a type of fraud. The investigation covered the period from 2021 to 2024.
During this time, most of the Letters of Credit (LCs) issued to the organization were shown as settled by converting them into forced loans, term loans, and time loans. In those cases, the imported goods were not used in the business, and the proceeds from sales did not return to the bank.
This leads to the suspicion that the loan money was laundered abroad under the guise of foreign trade.
The report noted that it is suspicious that Tk 29 crore provided as work order finance did not return to the bank after the completion of the orders. The outstanding loan balance of these institutions, around Tk 1,017 crore, is considered unrecoverable and classified as bad debt.
Following the political shift in August, Adnan has been a fugitive. He is a citizen of England (Passport number 124338-397).
Meanwhile, due to money laundering, BFIU suspended all his bank accounts on 14 November 2025. Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has issued a travel ban against him. The bank accounts of Adnan’s wife, Nadia Momin Imam, his father, Chowdhury Fazle Imam, and his mother, Nilufar Imam, have also been blocked. Adnan took loans totaling Tk 1,431 crore in his own name from 13 banks, including UCB.
On the other hand, he took an additional Tk 1,033 crore in loans by opening companies in the names of employees. This means he has taken a total of Tk 2,464 crore in loans. Although the banks have filed cases in the Money Loan Court to recover this money, bank officials have expressed doubts about recovering the full amount due to the low value of bank guarantees.
These loans were taken without verifying the value of the collateral and through the use of pressure. Adnan’s loans include Tk 126 crore from NRBC in the name of Ixora Apparels Limited, Tk 230 crore from UCB in the name of Genex Infrastructure Limited, Tk 262 crore from UCB and Tk 5 crore from NRBC in the name of TSN Trade & Infrastructure Development Limited, Tk 380 crore in the name of Bangla-UK Agro Products Limited, and Tk 30 crore in the name of Diamondridge Construction Limited.
He has intentionally defaulted on all loans taken in the names of others. Apart from this, he purchased two cars using a loan taken from the Karwan Bazar branch of UCB in the name of an anonymous company, Phulpur Agro Limited.
UCB Deputy Managing Director (DMD) Mainul Kabir said one car worth Tk 15 crore has been seized due to the loan debt.
