An inquiry conducted by the Anti-Corruption Commission found that National Bank’s former directors and Sikder Group’s managing director, Ron Haque Sikder, and his brother, Rick Haque Sikder, had laundered over Tk 71 crore.

ACC director Benjir Ahmed filed two cases against the NBL’s two former directors, Ron and Rick, and five officials with its integrated district office in Dhaka-1 on Sunday under the corruption and money laundering prevention acts, ACC officials said.

The other five accused are NBL’s two former managing directors, Shah Syed Abdul Bari and Choudhury Moshtaq Ahmed, former two additional managing directors, MA Wadud and the bank’s ASM Bulbul and former executive vice-president Md Mahfujur Rahman.

According to ACC findings, Ron and Rick Sikder laundered a total of $87,14,724 or Tk71.53 crore (as per the exchange rate in 2017) from NBL using their international credit cards, violating the Guidelines for Foreign Exchange Transactions and Prudential Guidelines for Consumer Financing.

Ron Sikder spent $60,92,225 from NBL beyond his balance limit of $60,000 by using seven  international credit cards in five years (2017–2021), while his brother Rick Sikder spent $26,22,499 against his balance limit of $60,000 using six credit cards in the period.

The ACC findings said that NPL head of Card Division Mahfuzur Rahman had allowed the balance limit for international credit cards of Ron and Rick, illegally concealing information from the board of directors of NBL and Bangladesh Bank.

According to prudential guidelines for consumer financing, a spending limit of Tk 10 lakh using a credit card is allowed without a security deposit and Tk 25 lakh with a security deposit. But Moshtaq, Wadud, Bulbul, and Mahfujur, in a planned way, increased the credit limit of the two NBL directors, though there is no scope to increase or approve the limit without a board meeting.

The accused increased the limit by bypassing the board of directors, and they also tried to legalise it by preparing an office note, according to the cases.

Quoting a report of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit sent to the ACC on September 13, 2021, the anti-graft body said that 20 bank accounts of Ron and Rick and people linked to them were being operated in Thailand, where money was laundered from NBL.

Apart from this, the money was also transferred from America, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Switzerland, China, Vietnam, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Russia to accounts in Thailand, it said.

As per the rules, the loan of a credit card has to be paid within a specific date of every month, but the two NBL directors did not pay their loan. They continued to use their credit card for up to one year without paying the loan, abusing their directorship power, the ACC said.

The case statement reads that Ron and Rick Sikder, in collusion with the then NBL officials, laundered the money, violating laws and abusing their power.

Sikder Group managing director Ron and his brother Dipu Sikder came into the discussion after they allegedly assaulted two officers of the Export-Import Bank of Bangladesh Limited in 2020.

Exim Bank authorities alleged in a case filed against them on May 19, 2020, that Sikder Group MD and his brother abducted, tortured, and intimidated its managing director, Md Haider Ali Mia, and additional managing director, Md Firoz Hossain, on May 7 as they went to visit Sikder Group properties pledged as security for a loan.

Exim Bank officers were taken to Rupganj and Purbachal to assess the assets pledged as collateral against the loan.

Since the officers refused to evaluate the assets proposed for the mortgage as desired by Sikder Group, Haider Ali Mia was shot at a location in the Purbachal area, but he escaped unhurt, the case statement said.

After the incident, Ron and his brother Dipu Sikder fled to Bangkok on a private jet on May 25, 2020. Later, on February 12, 2021, Ron Haque Sikder was arrested by DB police on arrival from Dubai at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.

Ron’s father and Sikder Group chairman Zainul Haque Sikder’s body also landed at Dhaka Airport on another flight from Dubai on the same day. Hours after his arrest, Ron was granted bail in the case.

DB police cleared Ron and Dipu of the charges in the final report submitted to the court on August 9, 2022.

On December 13, 2022, the High Court directed authorities concerned to conduct an inquiry into the allegations of money laundering against Ron Haque and his family members following a writ petition filed by a lawyer, Chowdhury Hasan Mahmud Abdullah.