Diamond World MD Dilip Agarwal on one-day remand in Tk 678 crore gold and diamond smuggling case

A court has granted a one-day remand for Dilip Kumar Agarwal, managing director (MD) of Diamond World, in a case filed over the alleged smuggling-linked trading of gold and diamonds worth about Tk 678.19 crore and money laundering.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ariful Islam passed the order on Tuesday (20 October) at 3pm, following an application by the case's investigating officer, CID Sub-Inspector (SI) Md. Ashraful Hasan.

Earlier, the investigating officer produced Dilip Agarwal before the court wearing a helmet and bulletproof jacket, in handcuffs.

The remand application said intensive interrogation of the accused was necessary to uncover the specific facts of the case, determine the real source of the gold and diamonds, identify other persons involved and establish the extent of the money laundering.

Public prosecutor Shamsuddoha Sumon argued in favour of the remand at the hearing. Defence lawyer Anwar Kabir Babul opposed the remand and sought bail. After hearing both sides, the court granted one day of remand.

According to the case statement, Dilip Kumar Agarwal, as proprietor of Diamond World and Diamond World Limited, allegedly engaged in money laundering and smuggling for a long time under the cover of the gold and diamond business at home and abroad.

The statement says that between 6 September 2006 and 8 February 2024, gold bars, jewellery and loose diamonds worth only Tk 38.47 crore were legally imported from abroad through letters of credit (LC). Over the same period, however, gold and diamonds worth about Tk 678.19 crore were collected from the local market through purchase, exchange and conversion methods.

The CID alleges that the accused could not produce valid documents for the source and supply of this huge quantity of gold and diamonds — and it is on the basis of this discrepancy that the smuggling and money laundering charges have been brought.

During the one-day remand, the investigating officer will interrogate the accused in an attempt to extract information about the source of the gold and diamonds and others involved, it is learnt.

The investigation into the case is still ongoing. After the remand, the accused will be produced before the court again, and further legal steps will be taken based on the progress of the investigation.