The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) has seized nine containers of goods worth around $283,000 for alleged money laundering through the submission of fake Letters of Credit (LCs).
On January 31, a CIID team conducted a raid at the SAPL (OCL) Container Depot in North Patenga and found evidence of fraud in the export documents of Sabiha Saiki Fashion, a company located in Mollar Tech, Dhaka, according to Mohammad Fakhrul Alam, the DG of CIID.
He stated that the consignments were intended for shipment to Malaysia, Sudan, UAE, Trinidad, and Tobago. An eight-member investigation committee, led by Saifur Rahman, joint director of CIID Chattogram regional office, has been formed to investigate the irregularities further.
The CIID sent a letter to the Agrani Bank to verify the authenticity of the documents, and the bank confirmed that Sabiha Saiki Fashion was not a customer of them and that the export bills were issued in the name of another exporting company. When contacted, Sabiha Saiki Fashion denied any connection to the incident and stated that they have filed a general diary with the Uttara Paschim police station in this regard.
CIID officials alleged that despite a request for a physical examination of the consignments, Limax Shippers Limited, the C&F agent, did not cooperate. He said, “Out of the 85 consignments, nine were found at the depot, while the rest have already been exported.”
