Dhaka, 30 November 2024: The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has directed banks and financial institutions to freeze the accounts of 17 individuals associated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) for 30 days, instructing them to suspend all transactions and submit updated financial statements within three working days, according to local media reports.
The associated persons include former ISKCON member Chinmoy Krishna Das, who was arrested earlier this week on sedition charges.
The move follows the Bangladesh High Court’s dismissal of a petition seeking to ban ISKCON after clashes between the group’s supporters and forces in which a lawyer was killed.
On October 30, a sedition case was filed at Chattogram’s Kotwali police station against 19 people, including Das, accusing them of disrespecting Bangladesh’s national flag during a Hindu community rally in the city’s New Market area.