Raintree owner appears before customs intelligence

Owner and officials of The Raintree Dhaka, the upscale hotel in the capital’s posh area Banani where two university girls were raped allegedly in March, have appeared before customs intelligence.

The hotel’s owner and Managing Director Shah Md Adnan Harun, along with his uncles Mujibul Hoque Kamal and Akbar Hossain Manju and a lawyer Jahangir Kabir, appeared at the Kakrail office around 11:00am to offer explanation for the VAT dodging and liquor find in the hotel.

The hotel has come under the radar of customs intelligence, which found Tk 8 lakh VAT graft into Raintree’s account in the lone month of its legal operation in April and 10 bottles of liquor kept without license.

Sharifur Rahman, joint director of customs intelligence, said the quizzing focused on VAT dodging, illegal liquor and money laundering. Deputy Director Shariful Hassan is leading the interrogation.

The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) had asked owner Adnan Harun to appear on May 17 for the explanation. Adnan sought time citing reason that he was sick.

Under public outrage over allegations of siding with the rapists and trying to cover up the incident initially, the hotel authorities later said they demanded punishment for the rapists.

Source: thedailystar