US embassy cable - 05DHAKA2572

C O N F I D E N T I A L DHAKA 002572 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PINR, ECON, CVIS, KCRM, BG 
SUBJECT: KIBRI INVESTIGATION PROVIDES SNAPSHOT OF POLITICS 
AND CORRUPTION IN BANGLADESH 
 
 
Classified By: Pol/Econ Counselor D.C. McCullough; reason 1.4(b, d) 
 
1.    (C) Police investigators of the murder of Awami League 
leader SMS Kibria examined the financial records of the 
accused mastermind, Abdul Quayyum, a businessman turned local 
BNP politician, who allegedly planned the murder of sitting 
parliamentarian Kibria and sought to frame his chief BNP 
rival for the crime.  Their investigation implicates Quayyum 
in a range of questionable transactions that enabled him to 
amass assets worth more than $200,000 on an annual salary of 
just $7,500. 
 
2.    (C) In their report, provided to us along with 
supporting documentation as part of the BDG's consultative 
process with the FBI, investigators paint a picture of a poor 
orphan who engaged in a wide range of criminal activities to 
amass personal wealth and prestige as a successful 
businessman.  They believe Quayyum's wealth derived from 
several sources: 
 
-- Rangs Limited, a major trading house, funded the purchase 
of pre-IPO shares in Bank Asia by Quayyum, allegedly acting 
as an undisclosed nominee for the benefit of Rangs Group Vice 
Chairman Abdur Rouf Chowdhury, who was also a director of 
Bank Asia.  Bank Asia's directors were not allowed to 
purchase the pre-IPO shares.  Quayyum was apparently chosen 
because he was the deputy general manager of a Rangs 
affiliated company, Sea Resource Private Ltd.  Investigators 
uncovered transaction flows of more than $435,000 through 
Quayyum's joint bank accounts (with his wife, Suraiya Afroze) 
at Bank Asia and Commercial Bank of Ceylon, Ltd. (Dhaka 
branch).  They also recovered savings bonds worth $128,000 
purchased over a two-year period and registered in the names 
of Quayyum, his wife, and his two sons, Ruhul Quayyum and 
Faisal Quayyum.  Investigators describe Suraiya Afroze as a 
housewife with no independent income.  Investigators say 
Quayyum used his connections with directors of Rangs to fund 
these purchases. 
 
-- Quayyum established a charitable organization, Shahid Zia 
Memorial & Research Council, moving more than $70,000 through 
accounts at two separate banks.  Some of these funds 
allegedly came from a government grant to the NGO for an 
education project.  Investigators allege Quayyum established 
the NGO to further his political ambitions and then diverted 
the NGO's funds to his personal use. 
 
-- Quayyum was a member of a securities firm, Sar Securities 
Ltd.  Investigators cite a six-month period in 2004 in which 
he apparently sold more shares than he purchased, ending up 
with nearly 4,000 shares of Bank Asia worth $12,700. 
 
-- Investigators also cited a lavish life style, noting 
Quayyum's expenses and charitable donations were three times 
his monthly income.  Quayyum owns an apartment worth $40,000 
purportedly purchased from Eastern Housing, but could not 
explain the source of the purchase money. 
 
-- Finally, when they arrested Quayyum, investigators 
reportedly seized from his office official stamps of the 
Registrar of Companies and customs officials, presumably used 
in various fraudulent document schemes. 
 
4.    (C) Comment:  The investigation of Quayyum's finances 
illustrates the pervasive weaknesses in Bangladeshi 
institutions.  The investigation implicates a major trading 
house in stock market manipulation and abuse by its officers 
of their position on the board of a local bank.  Moreover, 
the unusual transaction flows in Quayyum's bank accounts 
should have triggered suspicious activity reports and 
investigations under Bangladesh's anti-money laundering laws. 
 Quayyum's activities as a securities dealer call into 
question the quality of securities regulation, while his 
formation of an apparent shell NGO and abuse of government 
contracts illustrates problems with the government's 
licensing and regulation of NGOs.  Although Quayyum's 
political ambitions have been stymied, many successful 
politicians are believed to rely on equally questionable 
financial dealings to generate the wealth underpinning their 
political careers. 
CHAMMAS