At the beginning of October 2019, a company named JHM International Limited opened a bank letter of credit (LC) to bring stone used in construction works from India to Bangladesh. It was supposed to bring 398 metric tons of stone chips across the border land port of Petrapol-Benapol. But on October 20, much less stones came to the country than that.

Although everything was fine on paper, in the bill of landing numbered 'JCD2PZ4BO2GNL', less goods arrived, and prices of more goods were paid. The matter became very easy, as the exporting company in India was JHM Export Import Limited was actually another company of the JHM Group.

The Mirror Asia has found out that money was laundered in 2019 and 2020 through various land ports in the country in the name of import-export business by JHM Group, which is based in India but currently operates through Bangladesh from Dubai. After investigating about 50 import and export records of this group, The Mirror Asia can confirm that apart from money laundering from Bangladesh to India, this company also laundered money from India through Bangladesh to Dubai.

In Bangladesh, JHM Group was directly assisted by two persons— Mehedi Hasan Biplab of Chattogram and Mukhlesur Rahman Mukul of Rajshahi. Among them, Mukul was in charge of Benapole, Sonamsjid, Hili and Bhomra land ports. He completes all Trade Based Money Laundering (TBML) processes through these ports on behalf of the JHM Group.

Mukhlesur Rahman Mukul alias Hundi Mukul, who is known as the king of money laundering of the Rajshahi in the region’s underworld , was given that power from the background by AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, the mayor of Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) and presidium member of ruling party Bangladesh Awami League. 

Liton also arranged for Mukul's company to provide a number of RCC development and construction work. Not only that, Rajshahi-3 Constituency Member of Parliament (MP) Asaduzzaman Asad, who is known as Liton's confidant, gave Hundi Mukul the job of Rajshahi's Balumhal, the sand query of the mighty Padma River. As a result, this money launderer continues to be the supplier of sand of all development activities in the region.

Another money launderer of this region is Atiqur Rahman Kalu. He is not only close to Khairuzzaman Liton, but also a big leader of his party. Kalu, the lessee of Rajshahi city's only cattle market, was recently charged by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) with acquiring illegal wealth. Mr. Liton has settled his own political office in Kalu’s building in the Ranibazar area of the city. There are allegations that Khairuzzaman Liton is trying to influence the ACC investigation against Mr. Kalu.

The Story of JHM, Hundi Mukul and Cow Enamul

An investigation by The Mirror Asia reveals the names of three brothers,Indian nationals, as the main ringleaders of the money laundering. A company named JHM came up. Mehdi Hasan is the chairman of this company. His two brothers Jahangir Alam and Humayun Kabir are the directors. According to intelligence sources, they have not been able to enter their country for 6 years due to allegations of money laundering. As a result, they stayed in Bangladesh for a long time. Later they fled to Dubai. Currently they are live in Dubai and are doing business in the city. 

According to the CID and ED sources in India, these three brothers of JHM Group are nephews of accused Enamul Haque, who is on trial for cow smuggling and money laundering in India. Enamul Haque has a business company called Haque Group. Mukhlesur Rahman Mukul, the money launderer of Rajshahi is also associated with this Haque group. In the reports of several intelligence agencies of Bangladesh, the name of this Mukul has come up as a money launderer. However, as they are protected by Khairuzzaman Liton, no organisation in the country has been able to take any action against him so far.

According to the report published in a Dhaka newspaper in August 2020, JHM's money laundering and illegal business has been going on under the cover of import-export business in Bangladesh since 2017. Under the umbrella of Mehdi Hasan, a citizen of Murshidabad, India, three brothers and their uncle Enamul Haque, a huge network of hundi, drug and illegal arms trafficking has been established in India and Bangladesh. By joining that network, some people from Rajshahi and Chittagong region have amassed hundreds of crores of taka. Mukhlesur Rahman Mukul is one of them.

On March 29, 2018, a letter signed by the then Additional DIG Rezaul Karim of the Special Crime Management Branch of the Police Headquarters informed the law-and-order forces about these money laundering and drug smuggling activities that have developed across the Rajshahi region. Apart from this, another letter signed by the then Director (Joint Secretary) Farid Ahmed of the Prime Minister's Office on December 28, 2017 asked to take necessary action against these smugglers.

According to the investigation, the law-and-order enforcement forces could not take action against the influential owners of this gang without getting a green signal from the higher levels of the government. Because many members of this circle have joined local politics. Some have gone into contracting business to legalise their black money. Mukhlesur Rahman Mukul is one of them.

While investigating Mukul, one of the collaborators of JHM, the TMA has found that he was once a grocery shopkeeper. He left the grocery store and became directly involved with JHM. Now he owns cars and properties.

It is also known that at least 99 percent of the stones and onions that Mukul imports from India in the name of his company 'Moon Enterprise' are through JHM Import and Export Private Limited and MS Haque Mercantile Private Limited. The addresses of these two institutions are the Fourth Floor of MK Point  and the Sixth Floor of Bentic Street, Kolkata. MS Haque is owned by Enamul Haque, uncle of JHM Chairman Mehdi Hasan. Recently, Indian law enforcing agencies have arrested Enamul on various charges including drug trafficking and illegal money transactions. And the investigation of illegal transactions against Mehdi Hasan is going on. On March 17, 2019, a letter was sent to law enforcement agencies from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence Branch of India requesting an investigation into these matters.

Money, Money, Money

According to the sources of the engineering section of the Rajshahi City Corporation, since 2018, Mukhlesur Rahman Mukul's company Moon Enterprise has received several tenders of Tk 100crore for the development of RCC. According to several sources of RCC, the legal process in the organisation of tenders is limited only on paper. It is alleged that Mayor Khairuzzaman Liton himself gave the scheduled work to preferred contractors in return for a huge financial commission. His closeness with Mukhlesur Rahman Mukul is even deeper.

Mayor Liton's close political colleague Asaduzzaman Asad, who is the Member of Parliament for the Rajshahi-3 constituency, mainly mediates Liton's close relationship with Mukul. Liton and Asad exerted influence and aceed the former ring of Awami League to get two of the three Balumhal leases in Rajshahi to Mukul's business firm Moon Enterprise. As a result, the supply of sand for all development works in Rajshahi is now under the exclusive control of Mukul.

According to several sources close to Liton and Asad, it was through this mukul that their money was laundered in India under the guise of an import and export business in the name of Liton's wife Shaheen Akhtar Reni in 2020. Besides, Liton's financial commission is there. And Mukul has borne all the expenses of Asad's election. Also, Mukul gave Asad an expensive vehicle before he was elected as MP.

According to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) sources, the 2018 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado TX model black color brand new car given to Asad by Mukul was registered in Dhaka on June 3 of the same year. According to the registration information, the name of the owner of this vehicle is Mukhlesur Rahman, father's name is Waz Nabi. The vehicle's fitness will expire on 19 August 2024. According to BRTA information, the owner of the car is Mukhlesur Rahman Mukul of Rajshahi, who is mentioned above.

Immediately after the election of the 12th National Assembly of Bangladesh, the local administration published a notice for the lease of Balumhals in Paba and Godagari upazilas of Rajshahi. Moon Enterprises, owned by Mukul, got the lease for sand extraction and toll collection of two places in the tender process. The company got a lease of one only for sand extraction toll collection.

Several businessmen related to sand business said on the condition of anonymity that after the parliament election, Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton and Asaduzzaman Asad influenced the local administration and gave the Balumhals to Mukhlesur Rahman Mukul. Asad's younger brother Shafiquzzaman Shafiq joined it. The sand traders alleged that they formed a syndicate by getting sand lease under Liton-Assad's influence. Meanwhile, after receiving the lease of Balumhal, there have been allegations of violation of rules against the company one after another. But no action was taken against him as he had the blessings of an influential leader like Liton.

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