Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has arrested a former AB Bank chairman and two others on charge of money laundering.

ACC Assistant Director (Public Relations) Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya said the commission arrested AB Bank’s ex-chairman, M Wahidul Haque; the Bank’s Head of Corporate Treasury, Abu Hena Mostofa Kamal; and one of the Bank’s clients, Saiful Haque, on Thursday from the different areas of the city, reports the UNB.

He added that a case was filed with Motijeel Police Station today against eight officials while the Commission appointed an assistant director as the investigation officer.   

Wahidul Haque, along with AB Bank’s vice chairman and a director, resigned from the bank’s board of directors on December 21, 2017 amid allegations of laundering around Tk. 165 crore to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through two shady organisations in the name of investment.

Saiful Haq is the owner of Atlantic Enterprise and Director of Sky Aviation Services Limited and he had used clouts illegally in AB Bank’s affairs as he had married the BNP leader, and former foreign minister Morshed Khan’s second daughter. Morshed Khan was the founding chairman of the bank. His family allegedly controlled the bank for a long time.

Earlier, on December 28 of the last year, the bank’s former chairman M Wahidul Haque and former managing director M Fazlur Rahman were interrogated.

ACC also on January 8 interrogated newly appointed chairman of AB bank MA Awal and one of its directors in this connection.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) quizzed six members of the AB Bank’s Board of Directors on January 7 over alleged laundering of Tk 165 crore to UAE.

The directors of AB Bank are - Shishir Ranjan Bose, Mejbahul Haque, Fahimul Haque, Syed Afzal Hasan Uddin, Runa Zakia and Md. Anwar Jamil Siddiqui, said Pranab.

Another five officials of the bank — Mohammad Mahfuz Ul Islam, head of corporate treasury, Mohammad Lokman, head of Offshore Banking Unit, Arif Neaz, OBU at EPZ branch, Mahadeb Sarkar Sumon, company secretary, and MN Azim, who works in financial institutions and treasury section - were interrogated by ACC on January 2.

Meanwhile, the ACC imposed a ban on the travel of 16 senior officials of the bank.