Staff Correspondent

Despite facing multiple active money laundering lawsuits, frozen bank accounts, and asset confiscation orders, controversial financier Chowdhury Nafees Sarafat is allegedly attempting to leverage his remaining networks to re-establish influence within the country's financial sector.

Various regulatory investigations, lawsuits, and media inquiries have revealed that Sarafat and his associates were allegedly involved in massive financial irregularities through banks, mutual funds, and capital market institutions. His activities, particularly centered around the former Farmers Bank (now Padma Bank) and the asset management firm RACE Asset Management, have left a long-lasting negative footprint on the country's financial architecture.

Following the political transition in August 2024, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police, and the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) initiated multiple inquiries against Sarafat. Although several cases were filed and his local assets frozen, he has not yet been convicted in any court of law, allowing him to actively seek a comeback in corporate mediation and restructuring.

The rise of RACE and Padma Bank collapse 
Sarafat, a former official of Standard Chartered Bank, entered the asset management business in 2008 alongside his associate Dr. Hasan Taher Imam by securing a license for RACE Management PCL (now RACE Asset Management). By 2013, RACE had taken over the management of 10 closed-end mutual funds, a portfolio that has since grown to 13.

Investigating agencies allege that Sarafat and Imam diverted money from these public mutual funds to purchase sponsor shares in Farmers Bank to secure seats on its board of directors, while Sarafat’s wife, Anjuman Ara Shahid, also became a sponsor director. The mutual funds and their general investors reportedly gained no significant financial returns from these high-risk exposures.

Following a massive loan scam that forced the resignation of the bank's founder-chairman and former Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, Sarafat assumed the chairmanship of the troubled institution, which was subsequently rebranded as Padma Bank. To keep the ailing bank afloat, the state-run Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) and four state-owned commercial banks—Sonali, Janata, Agrani, and Rupali—injected Tk 715 crore in capital. Despite these bailouts and regulatory policy relaxations, Padma Bank accumulated BDT 6,099 crore in net losses over the last eight years. Currently, around Tk 2,200 crore in deposits from 43 government organizations remain trapped in the bank. Sarafat stepped down from the bank's chairmanship on January 31, 2024, citing health reasons.

Although Sarafat holds a 25 percent stake in RACE Asset Management and Dr. Hasan Taher Imam holds 75 percent, the two have been locked in a bitter legal battle over ownership and control. The newly- reconstituted BSEC has initiated investigations into the operations of RACE-managed mutual funds, but the process has faced gridlocks due to ongoing writ petitions.

BSEC Executive Director and Spokesperson Md. Abul Kalam said, the commission’s enforcement department had summoned Sarafat and Imam for a hearing regarding irregularities in Best Holdings Limited. Although the duo initially secured a High Court stay order to bypass the summons, the Appellate Division recently vacated the stay in favor of the commission, prompting the BSEC to initiate fresh hearing proceedings.

Network of political patronages and regulatory capture
Sarafat’s rise in the financial sector was heavily catalyzed by his close personal access to the highest echelons of the previous regime.

According to market insiders, he maintained close ties with former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, ousted private industry adviser Salman F. Rahman, former EXIM Bank Chairman Nazrul Islam Mazumder, former Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, and former Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder. He also used to leverage his close association with fugitive former IGP Benazir Ahmed.

Under the protection of these powerful associates, Sarafat allegedly influenced key regulatory decisions, including the appointments of chairmen and managing directors at state-owned banks, large loan approvals, and even the selection of central bank deputy governors. He also allegedly weaponized ACC inquiries to pressure former Southeast Bank chairmen MA Kasem and Azim Uddin Ahmed out of their board positions, subsequently installing his wife on the board.

Besides, Sarafat used political influence to secure a premium institutional plot in Rajuk’s Purbachal New Town project for his private venture, the Canadian University of Bangladesh, which was co-founded alongside former IGP Benazir Ahmed. His brother, Chowdhury Jafarullah Sarafat, currently serves as the acting chairman of the university's board of trustees.

Money laundering charges and asset freezes
In February last year, a court ordered the freezing of 74 bank accounts belonging to Sarafat and his family members following an ACC petition over the alleged embezzlement of BDT 887 crore from banks and the capital market. Sarafat also faces separate criminal charges for attempting to misappropriate BDT 5 crore through fraudulent loans from Padma Bank and embezzling BDT 71 crore during the relocation of the bank's headquarters.

The ACC's investigations have so far traced Sarafat's investments in 52 shell and active companies. To prevent him from laundering these assets, courts have attached a 20-story building in Gulshan, 18 apartments in Dhaka and Gazipur, plots in Purbachal, and a luxury villa and apartment in Dubai. ACC Secretary Mohammad Khaled Rahim noted that while the commission has gathered substantial evidence, judicial convictions remain subject to court trials.

Concurrently, the CID’s Financial Crime Unit is prosecuting Sarafat for capital flight. Although a previous investigation in early 2024 by dismissed CID officials allegedly exonerated Sarafat in exchange for bribes, a fresh inquiry by the reformed unit led to a formal money laundering case filed on November 28, 2025. The case accuses Sarafat, his wife, his son Rahib Safwan Sarafat Chowdhury, and associate Dr. Hasan Taher Imam of laundering BDT 1,613 crore through fake BO accounts, shell corporations, and offshore transfers. CID Additional DIG Muhammad Bashir Uddin confirmed that primary evidence of laundering has been established, and the case is currently under active investigation.

Recent maneuvering and lobbying efforts
Despite these extensive criminal charges, financial sector sources indicate that Sarafat is actively lobbying to shield himself from legal consequences and regain a foothold in the corporate landscape. He is reportedly trying to project himself as a corporate mediator capable of reconstructing distressed assets and rescheduling classified loans.

Sources claim Sarafat is utilizing his connections with influential non-resident Bangladeshi (NRB) groups in the UK, Canada, Singapore, and the US to lobby the current administration. Furthermore, Sarafat is reportedly receiving subtle backing from a former Standard Chartered Bank colleague who currently holds a state-minister equivalent rank in the present government and heads a critical state agency, alongside several active politicians.

When reached for comment, Bangladesh Bank Executive Director and Spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan said, the central bank remains highly vigilant against individuals and syndicates involved in financial scams. He reiterated the central bank's commitment to taking stern action against anyone who compromised the stability of the banking sector.

Chowdhury Nafees Sarafat was not available for comments as he did not respond to messages sent to his WhatsApp number.