by Asif Showkat Kallol (Dhaka Bureau)
A company named in the globally exposed Panama Papers has been linked to alleged large-scale money laundering in Bangladesh, with investigators probing claims that more than Tk220bn (£1.6bn) was siphoned out of the country through a distributor connected to bKash, the country’s largest mobile financial services provider.
At the centre of the investigation is ‘Gen International’, a distributor of bKash, whose parent or affiliated entity, Jetlight Investment Limited, appears in documents associated with the Panama Papers. Bangladesh’s Criminal Investigation Department (Criminal Investigation Department) is now examining allegations that Gen International operated without mandatory regulatory approvals while facilitating suspicious transactions on a massive scale.
Under Bangladeshi law, any foreign-owned or jointly owned company must secure approval from both Bangladesh Bank and the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) before conducting business. Investigators say Gen International failed to obtain either. Instead, it allegedly operated using a trade license issued by Dhaka South City Corporation- registered in the names of employees rather than the firm’s ultimate foreign owners.
Despite these irregularities, the company continued operating as a bKash distributor, a fact that investigators say raises serious questions about corporate oversight and compliance. The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) uncovered evidence of suspicious transactions amounting to approximately Tk220bn routed through bKash-linked channels. Following its findings, the BFIU handed the matter to the CID for criminal investigation. Senior officials involved in the probe, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the allegations forwarded by Bangladesh Bank were ‘fully substantiated’, adding that even more serious information had emerged, although details could not yet be disclosed. Preparations are underway to file formal cases, they said.
Bangladesh Bank spokesperson and executive director Arif Hossain Khan confirmed that foreign firms operating without central bank approval cannot legally repatriate profits. If Gen International operated without approval, then any transfer of profits would have occurred through illegal channels,” he said.
Gen International’s ownership structure has also raised red flags. BFIU reports show that a significant portion of its shares is held by Jet Light Investment Limited, registered in the British Virgin Islands- a jurisdiction widely associated with offshore secrecy. Open-source data suggests that more than 100 companies share the same registered address. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has linked that address to entities named in the Panama Papers, prompting investigators to classify Jet Light as a potential shell company.
The probe has also identified possible links to an organized hundi (informal money transfer) network spanning Bangladesh and Malaysia. Intelligence shared by Malaysia’s financial authorities indicates large cash deposits into accounts held by Gen International’s alleged beneficial owners, often labeled as ‘gifts’ from Bangladeshi nationals- a pattern consistent with underground remittance operations.
When contacted, bKash’s head of communications, Shamsuddin Haider Dalim, said the company had verified Gen International’s legal documentation before signing the distributorship agreement. He added that how the distributor transferred its profits was ‘not bKash’s responsibility’. Pressed on discrepancies highlighted in the BFIU report, he declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.
Experts warn that operating without BIDA and Bangladesh Bank approval- particularly where profits are sent abroad- may constitute offences under Bangladesh’s Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012.
As the investigation deepens, the case has sharpened concerns over regulatory enforcement, corporate accountability, and the vulnerabilities of Bangladesh’s fast-growing digital finance sector- with potential implications extending far beyond a single company.
Asif Showkat Kallol: Works for a German-based online outlet, The Mirror Asia as Head of News. Contributor, Pressenza- Dhaka Bureau.
