The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has discovered anomalies worth Tk 353 crore at Sonali Life Insurance Company, accusing its former chairman Mostafa Golam Quddus and his family members of irregularities, fraud, and money laundering. The family, however, blames Quddus's former son-in-law Mir Rashed Bin Aman, who had also worked as the company's chief executive officer (CEO), for the "misappropriation" of Tk 192 crore funds. A BFIU team submitted a report on September 22, detailing the evidence of irregularities at Sonali Life.
The agency sent it to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police and the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) for further steps. The alleged irregularities reported by BFIU include the "sale" of a mortgaged building owned by Quddus to Sonali Life for over Tk 139 crore without the approval of the board of directors and IDRA. Payments were made for the purchase of luxurious cars, flats, birthday and marriage anniversary gifts, overseas treatment costs and other items for the family members' personal use in clear violation of rules related to managing the funds of a public limited company, the anti-money laundering agency said.
The findings have come at a time when Sonali Life needs to start repayment significantly as many of the decade-old company's early life insurances are set to mature. Sonali Life has 204 branches with 26,693 agents across the country. Since the inception.