Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has directed the office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies & Firms (RJSC) to suspend the transfer of shares of seven conglomerates immediately.
These are Bashundhara Group, Orion Group, Summit Group, Beximco Group, S Alam Group, Nassa Group, and Third Wave Technologies Ltd (Nagad Ltd), according to a letter from its Central Intelligence Cell (CIC).
The CIC said that under the Income Tax Act, it has the authority to block or seize taxpayers' properties temporarily to prevent tax evasion.
According to the ongoing investigation, the letter said, there are allegations of massive financial irregularities including tax evasion against these companies.
The tax office's directive follows a request made over a month ago for banks to provide account details of the heads of five major business groups to assess their tax compliance.
The individuals in question are Salman F Rahman, vice-chairman of Beximco Group, Nazrul Islam Mazumder, chairman of Nassa Group, Mohammed Aziz Khan, chairman of Summit Group, Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, chairman of Bashundhara Group, and Mohammad Obaidul Karim, chairman of Orion Group.
The NBR sought information on term deposits, savings accounts, current accounts, loan accounts, foreign currency accounts, credit cards, lockers, and vaults owned by these business leaders and their family members, starting from July 1, 2015.
BBN/SSR/AD