Ansar al Islam resurgence: ‘NRBs funding reorganisation’

Ansar al Islam, which claims to be the Bangladesh chapter of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, has received about Tk 1.5 crore in the last three and half years from people in the UK and Australia for its operational activities as the militant outfit looks to stage a comeback.

Previously known as Ansarullah Bangla Team, Ansar Al Islam became inactive after the 2016 murder of Xulhaz Mannan, an LGBTQ rights activist, and his friend Khandoker Mahbub Rabby Tonoy.

Reports of the outfit regrouping came to the fore on August 23 after seven youths went missing from Cumilla.

While investigating the missing youths' whereabouts, law enforcers discovered at least 30 more youths and people working in different professions also left home for a so-called jihad that sounded similar to the one being fashioned by the militant outfit.

The Daily Star has learnt from officials of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit that Ansar al Islam is trying to reorganise.

To sponsor the resurgence, sympathisers of the outfit, many of whom are non-resident Bangladeshis, are sending in money through hundi, the cross-border money transfer method that bypasses the legal banking system.

Earlier this week, CTTC managed to arrest two suspected to be coordinators of such activities.

The arrestees are Md Saiful Islam alias Shakil, 26, believed to be the terror group's accountant, and Rezaul Alam alias Tinku, 42, an agent of a mobile financial services provider.

Tinku would receive the money sent in by hundi and Shakil would distribute the funds among the outfit members as per the directive of Ansar al Islam's top leadership.

On information, police arrested the duo from the capital's Dakshin Khan area on Saturday and a case was filed, Ahamedul Islam, additional deputy commissioner of CTTC, told The Daily Star.

A Bangladeshi expatriate named Shaheen sent about Tk 80 lakh to Tinku, according to the first information report.

After sending the money, Shaheen would send a 'code' and the list of recipients through Viber. Accordingly, Tinku would hand over the money to Shakil and three others: Sumon, Dilowar and Sobahan.

Besides receiving money directly from hundi, Tinku said he has received money through Shah Alam and Maqbul, both residents of Sylhet, Jabed and Liton at different times. Most of the funds would be forwarded to Shakil.

In his primary interrogation, Shakil said that he used to receive instruction to receive funds on secret apps like Xabber from the outfit's top leaders such as Sayed alias Tawfik, who is in charge of the outfit's activities in Dhaka city.

Besides the Tk 1 crore from the UK, two non-resident Bangladeshis in Australia named Rana and Shikder sent about Tk 50 lakh, according to a high official of the CTTC unit.

The funds were used for the outfit's operational activities that include monthly allowances for the permanent members as well as the families of the arrested and slain members of the outfit, holding iftar parties and sending Eid gifts.

Each arrested or slain member's family received Tk 5,000 to Tk 7,000, while the permanent members received Tk 8,000 to Tk 10,000 every month.

"We have already got some details of the expatriates who are sending the funds. We will now seek assistance in taking legal action against them through the official channel," Islam said.

Meanwhile, Shakil has given a confessional statement in the court admitting his involvement in managing Ansar Al Islam's fund inflows from abroad.

From the statement the investigators have obtained details of around 12 Ansar al Islam sympathisers, including a private car trader in Bangladesh.

The car trader named Tuhin has allegedly provided Tk 10 lakh after receiving the sum from the UK, according to officials and FIR.

"We are now verifying the names we found from the arrestees and conducting drives to arrest them," Islam said.