Destiny Group�s formidable trap of deceiving people
Was not there any government regulatory body or institution to oversee their controversial activities
they continued in the name of MLM business in
the last 12 years?
Sheikh Nahid Neazy
It has been more than three years since Destiny 2000 Limited stopped its business operation. The magnitude of Destinys scam simply surprised us! A company which commenced its journey with only 12 members in 2000 ended up comprising 39 business concerns in 2012. Of them, 26 had their activities, and the remaining 13 were just recorded in official documents.
A company which started its business trap of deceiving people in 2000 through MLM wing with only Tk 12 lakh, ended up facing an allegation that its top officials laundered Tk 3,285.26 crore.
After Bangladesh Bank raised allegations of illegal banking in March 2012, the irregularities and anomalies of Destiny group first came to light. But the most horrifying fact was that it had been befooling and deceiving more than 40 lakh people for the last 12 years.
According to the Bangladesh bank report prepared for anti-graft watchdog Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Destiny group was engaged in money laundering through its illegal banking launched in 2005. Tk 4,995.82 crore was deposited in 281 accounts of the three concernsDestiny 2000 Limited, Destiny Tree Plantation Limited and Destiny Multi-purpose Cooperative Society (DMCSL). Of the said amount, Tk 4,975.32 crore was transferred to the personal accounts of its directors and several associated firms. (Source: The daily Prothom Alo and the Daily Star, on October 12, 2012).
Naturally some questions come to our mind. Was not there any government regulatory body or institution to oversee their controversial activities they continued in the name of MLM business in the last 12 years? Should not Bangladesh Bank, the Ministry of Commerce and Cooperatives Department have been vigilant on the day-to-day activities of the group when their illegal activities were first made public? Now which government body or department will be held responsible for this? How could they continue illegal banking in the name of Cooperative Society? How could they offer shares to people and raise Tk 1400 crore? Did their activities comply with the Cooperative Act? How could 40 lakh people lose their money robbed by such a rubbish company although we had experienced Jubok scam in 2009? How could the group dodge tax amounting to Tk 110 crore? What was the role of NBR then? Why did NBR fail to look into this matter beforehand? We also came to know that Destiny group used to hold frequent training sessions, seminars and award giving ceremonies (the awards are-- Silver distributor, Gold distributor, Platinum distributor, Profit Sharing distributor, Diamond Executive, Crown executive and Crown Ambassador) at different expensive venues like Banga Bondhu International Conference Center, Mirpur Indoor Stadium, Ruposhi Bangla hotel and so on. They took this strategy to befool people. They used to invite some noted personalities to those programs as chief guests so that people did not have any doubt and misunderstanding about their activities. Of those renowned personalities, ministers, members of parliament, Bangladesh Bank Governor, university professors, former VCs of Dhaka University, leading economists and some civil society members were found present and giving speech in several programs in the last 12 years. This is how their presence helped the Destiny group make their activities credible and acceptable in the eyes of mass people. Later, the group started selling the CDs containing those speeches given by the distinguished persons. They used to take Tk 5,500 for a single training package (CDs).
Now these questions must arise. Should not those noted persons be held responsible for pampering Destinys top brass? Were not they responsible for indulging in their illegal activities through MLM business? Were not they responsible for giving wrong signal to people to be part of Destiny? Were not they responsible for making their controversial activities credible through their participation in Destinys programs? Were not some of them responsible for conniving with the group to sustain in the market for long and deceive the people and plunder thousands crore of money?
Shockingly, we saw that an ex- chief of army staff and a sector commander, Lieutenant General Harun-or-Rashid was allegedly involved in this scam. How could he take such a position of the President of the group? How could he, being a freedom fighter, keep mum sensing all these irregularities and illegal banking over the years? How could he continue advocating the groups illegal activities appearing in various talk shows on Baishakhi TV channel even if the allegations were already made public and seriously talked-about across the country? How could he hold the position of the President of the group till the day he was arrested and sent to jail although he resigned from the post of general secretary of Sector Commanders Forum which has been very vocal in demanding the punishment of the war criminals? Is not his role a shame for the whole nation? What a shame! Tragically, we wake up when we do not have any options left in hand to solve the problem.
After a long slumber, Bangladesh Bank, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance, NBR, Anti-Corruption Commission and Cooperatives Department woke up. By this time, the public money was plundered, and Tk 3,285.25 crore was laundered.
However, the government took a very prompt and effective decision and appointed an administrator to oversee the groups day-to-day functioning. Simultaneously, it ensured that no asset registered under Destiny group would be disposed off during the tenure of investigation and a through auditing of the books. The government also gave assurance that the people who lost their hard-earned money would get it back very soon, and the perpetrators would get exemplary punishment at the end of the day. But unfortunately, people are still waiting to get their money back. Perhaps, they are going to face the same consequence as the JUBOK members faced.
Eventually, peoples destiny (approximately 45 lakh people) will depend on the ultimate destination of Destiny group and the restoration of discipline in the groups legal activities.
The writer is Assistant professor Dept. of English, Stamford University Bangladesh
