B Mirror Report:  Controversial business conglomerate Destiny Group has appealed to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to unfreeze its bank accounts, citing humanitarian reasons including unpaid employee salaries and partial refunds to investors ahead of Eid-ul-Adha.

According to sources, Mohammad Rafiqul Amin, chief executive officer of Destiny Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Limited, sent a letter to the finance ministry on May 17 requesting special permission to access the frozen funds.

In the letter, Amin said the company urgently needs the money to clear outstanding salaries, allowances and bonuses of employees, as well as to begin repaying retail investors who have been unable to recover their deposits for years.

Destiny Group, which became embroiled in controversy over its multilevel marketing operations, claimed it had been targeted by political persecution and what it described as “yellow journalism” during the previous government’s tenure.

Amin alleged that regulatory actions and legal proceedings against the company were based on fabricated accusations, eventually leading to two money laundering cases filed at Kalabagan Police Station under the Money Laundering Prevention Acts of 2009 and 2012.

The company said although the legal cases involved only a few directors, authorities froze all operational bank accounts and seized movable and immovable assets belonging to the wider business group.

Amin, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a lower court after lengthy legal proceedings, argued that the company’s assets and accounts were never formally transferred to the current management board.

He said the prolonged freeze on assets had left employees without salaries and festive bonuses for years, while millions of field-level investors remained unable to access their money.

The letter also referred to a High Court directive issued on September 1, 2022, allowing Destiny Group to resume operations. Following the order, a 19-member special management board was formed and Bangladesh Bank was instructed to support the revival of the company’s commercial activities.

However, Destiny claims that despite the court order, it still cannot access its funds, severely restricting business operations.

The company has requested the finance ministry to grant temporary administrative approval to use the frozen funds solely for employee payments and investor refunds.

Founded in 2000, Destiny Group reportedly collected around Tk 41.16 billion by 2012 and claims to have approximately 4.5 million customers, distributors and investors.