Kunal Ghosh, expelled TMC MP and one of the key accused in Saradha scam, being produced in a Kolkata court. (TOI file photo by Avik Purkait)

West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee. (TOI file photo by Kaushik Roy)

KOLKATA: Was a portion of the Saradha deposits parked in the Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd ?There are allegations that this bank, now being probed by the government of Bangladesh for suspected funding of jihad, was also involved in money laundering.Amid reports that Saradha funds have found their way to outfits such as the Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), investigators in India are trying to find out if these were routed through the Islami Bank."There are indications that some top officials of the Islami Bank have links with people in Kolkata who have subsequent links with the Saradha scam. The name of this bank came up while trying to trace the money trail. There are some financial institutions operated by this bank that are also being probed by the home ministry in Bangladesh for funding in terror activities. The government of Bangladesh had sought a report from the Islami Bank on how it disbursed funds," a source in the Enforcement Directorate said.According to sources in the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the Islami Bank was hauled up in the past for disbursing funds to terror outfits.It is also suspected that the bank has, within its customer base, individuals whose names feature in international blacklists. Funds may have been disbursed to individuals and suspect organizations in the form of "corporate zakaat".Zakaat is something that wealthy Muslims pay to those not so well-off. Indian investigators may request Bangladesh to find out whether the Islami Bank invested money in the Gulf on behalf of a customer."The key to terrorism is funds. The role of financial institutions, such as the the Islami Bank, was suspect for quite some time now. The global intelligence fraternity has been trying to trace the source of money that flows into the hands of terrorists. Even a US senate committee has accused the Islami Bank of funding terror outfits. The bank is allegedly backed by the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh which has established links to the JMB. It has been alleged that the present chairman was once a leader of Al-Badr and the former vice-chairman is being tried for his alleged involvement in war crimes in Bangladesh," a RAW source claimed.Investigators are probing whether any money parked by the Saradha Group in the Islami Bank was invested in the Gulf as the bank is known to have connections with international financial institutions that have been accused of funding terror groups in the name of "zakaat".It is being suspected that the Saradha funds may have been invested in real estate through the Islami Bank.Sleuths are also trying to find out whether the JMB had anything to do with Saradha's decision to invest money in the Bangladesh bank. While this may have provided an option to the Ponzi firm to send some of its ill-gotten gains outside the country, the JMB may have been given a free run in Bengal.