Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit asked banks to provide detailed information of accounts and transactions of eight persons, including former Bangladesh Bank deputy governor SK Sur Chowdhury, current Executive Director Md Shah Alam and their spouses.

The BFIU issued the notice on March 11, less than three weeks after the issuance of a similar notice by the National Board of Revenue on February 23 for Sur and Shah Alam.

The intelligence agency, dedicated to tackling money laundering and terrorist financing, asked the banks to provide information on them by today.

Earlier, two close associates of Proshanta Kumar Halder in confessional statements said Sur and Shah Alam had assisted them to conduct the financial scams.

Following the confessional statement, Bangladesh Bank withdrew Shah Alam from the responsibility of monitoring two departments for his alleged connection with PK Halder.

Shah Alam was relieved on February 4 from his duties at the central bank's Department of Financial Institutions and Markets and the Department of Banking Inspection-2.

SK Sur Chowdhury, a former deputy governor of the central bank, also assisted PK Halder, according to the confessional statement.

"This is a rare example of seeking account information of central bank officials for their alleged involvement in corruption," a BB official said.

Despite repeated attempts, both Sur and Shah Alam could not be reached over phone.

The names of the two came to the fore after Rashedul Haque, a former managing director of International Leasing and Financial Services (ILFS), and Uzzal Kumar Nandi, chairman of People's Leasing and Financial Services PLFSL, recently gave confessional statements to lower courts regarding financial scams.

PK Halder, former NRB Global Bank managing director, has allegedly siphoned off around Tk 10,200 crore from some non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs).

In another move, the BFIU asked banks on March 11 to freeze the accounts of South Bangla Agriculture and Commerce Bank Chairman SM Amjad Hossain, his spouse Begum Sufia Amjad and their daughter Tajri.

The BFIU asked to freeze their accounts for 30 days and provide the details of the accounts' information within today.

On January 7, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) imposed a ban on foreign travel of the three persons.

The anti-graft watchdog requested superintendent of police of Special Branch to impose the travel ban.

The ban was slapped as part of the commission's enquiry into loan irregularities perpetrated by Amjad.

He did not reply to a request from The Daily Star for comment.

Approached by The Daily Star, Abu Hena Mohammad Razee Hassan, head of the BFIU, said that the intelligence agency had been unable to disclose any information to this end given the sensitivity of the matter.