Imam-turned-entrepreneur arrested for misappropriating 17,000C

Ehsan Group Chairman Ragib Hasan and one of his associates have been arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on charges of misappropriating Tk17,000 crore.

Ragib, once the Imam of a mosque, joined a Multi-Level-Marketing (MLM) company and set up Ehsan Group of Companies in 2010 based in Pirojpur.

Starting with a real estate company first, he later formed 17 firms under the group’s name.

Many cases were filed against the group on charges of embezzling money from thousands of people with a promise of operating the company in compliance with the Islamic law while offering them a high profit.

He was arrested along with his associate Abul Bashar Khan from the capital’s Topkhana Road on Thursday night, RAB Headquarters said in a press release on Friday.

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During primary interrogation, Ragib has confessed to collecting Tk1.1 crore from over 100,000 members and clients of the 17 organizations under Ehsan Group. 

The group had almost 300 employees, who also fell victim to its trap as they did not get any salary, RAB said.

RAB Law and Media Branch Director Commander Khandaker Al Moin said: “The company has not been paying its customers since 2018. Ragib was arrested earlier in 2019 for cheating.”

He added: “The allegations made by the victims and the information given by Ragib are not consistent. It will be investigated whether the money has been used to finance militant activities,” he added.

Who is Ragib?

Ragib worked as an Imam till 2006. He also worked in an MLM company till 2007. 

In 2008, Ragib started a company called Ehsan Multilevel Marketing Company, reports Bangla Tribune.

Initially, he collected Tk110 crore from 10,000 members as investment in Ehsan Group. He used to talk about dividends based on Shariah to raise money. 

RAB said Ragib used to target the devout Muslims. He even encouraged investment by organizing religious sermons in the area.