Tk 18cr in Raj’s bank account, no visible income source: CID

Detained film producer Nazrul Islam Raj used to introduce him as an importer and supplier of sand to various mega-projects of the government but not a single consignment of goods was imported under his name and there was no instance of his supplying construction materials.

Without any visible source of legal income, Raj has a deposit of Tk 18.7 crore in an account under the name of SN Corporation with the Banani branch of The City Bank Limited in Dhaka, according to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police.

Investigators of CID’s financial crime wing said Raj is the owner of SN Corporation and has several trade licences against multiple companies but those companies had no transaction.

Most of the money deposited in the account was earned by illicit drug dealing in posh localities of Dhaka particularly Gulshan, Baridhara and Banani through some people and the police are trying to trace them, the CID officials said.

Raj recently bought 25 decimal of land at Rupganj in Narayanganj, constructing a residential hotel near the rail station in his hometown Gopalganj, and also owns several flats in Dhaka, police said.

Humayun Kabir, special superintendent of police CID who looks after financial crimes, told The Business Post, ‘‘Our investigators found

Nazrul Islam Raj earned a huge amount of money and made assets

through illegal drug dealing and used to lead a luxurious life at home and abroad.”

CID’s financial crime team is working on his moveable and immovable assets, he said.

Police said Raj used to claim to be owners of a “big” nursery and is also a leader of the platform of nursery owners but investigator found he has a small nursery in Gopalganj and there was no noteworthy income from it.

Bangladesh Nursery Owners Association General Secretary Nazrul Kabir told The Business Post Raj was a vice-president of their organisation.

Rapid Action Battalion on August 4 arrested Raj after arresting actress Pori Moni. Raj had produced the first film of Pori Moni “Bhalobasa Shimahin” and later the duo became close friends, police said.

Two cases were filed with Banani police against Raj under the money-laundering and narcotics control laws. Pori Moni was also sued under the narcotics law.

A CID investigator said actress Pori Moni has no noteworthy assets or deposits and lives in a rented flat at Banani but Raj made a lot of visible and hidden assets using the influence of actress Pori Moni.

“Somewhere Raj used to introduce him as a business tycoon, somewhere as a man of an ‘influential district’ and he used Pori Moni’s fame and influences to materialise his purposes through various tactics.