The chief executive officer of Independent Television, M Shamsur Rahman Momen, quietly obtained residency status in Dubai while continuing to receive his full executive salary in Bangladesh, according to documents reviewed by Bangla Outlook and multiple current and former officials familiar with the matter. 

The development has triggered questions inside the broadcaster and among investigators examining cross-border financial movements linked to politically connected business networks. 

Records reviewed for this report indicate that Momen secured a UAE residency permit through an investment-linked arrangement in mid-2025, with validity extending into 2027. 

Several officials with direct knowledge of the matter said the status gave him the right to reside, invest and work in the United Arab Emirates. They said the residency was not formally disclosed within sections of the company administration at the time.

The acquisition of such residency status has drawn attention because Bangladesh maintains foreign exchange controls requiring specific legal channels for outward remittances and offshore investment. 

Two officials familiar with financial compliance reviews told Bangla Outlook that investigators are seeking to determine whether any funds were transferred abroad through authorised banking procedures, nominee structures or third-party arrangements. 

No formal charge relating to the Dubai residency itself has been publicly announced.

Momen did not respond to repeated requests for comment sent through telephone and messaging applications. Independent Television also did not respond to detailed written questions.

Internal payroll records and two company officials said Momen continued receiving a monthly executive salary of 645,000 taka while spending extended periods outside Bangladesh. 

The payments, according to those familiar with payroll processing, continued after his UAE residency became active.

Several staff members said the figure has become a point of resentment inside the organisation, where many junior and mid-level employees earn a fraction of that amount. 

One current employee said concerns intensified after delayed reimbursements and tighter departmental budgets coincided with continued executive compensation.

Travel Ban and overseas movement

Independent Television, a private satellite broadcaster owned by Beximco, employs several hundred people and remains one of the country’s most prominent television news channels.

Officials familiar with an Anti-Corruption Commission review said Momen later became subject to a court-backed travel restriction connected to a money-laundering inquiry. However, those officials said he had already left Bangladesh before enforcement mechanisms were completed.

A publicly reported court order in August 2025 barred him from leaving the country amid investigations tied to alleged laundering of funds and wider financial irregularities. 

Two officials with knowledge of the process said sensitive information regarding the impending restriction may have circulated before execution, allowing time for departure. 

They declined to identify who may have had access to the order in advance.

Neither the ACC nor court authorities have publicly detailed whether any internal leak inquiry was opened.

Immigration movement summaries reviewed by investigators and described by two officials show that Momen travelled abroad multiple times between late 2024 and mid-2025. Destinations allegedly included Dubai, Bangkok and New York.

Officials said the trips are being examined in the context of broader inquiries into post-political-transition capital flight and offshore asset positioning by individuals associated with major business and media groups. 

No evidence has been publicly produced showing that every trip was improper, and travel itself is not unlawful.

Still, investigators said the timing and frequency of the movements raised sufficient concern to warrant scrutiny of financial transactions, company relationships and offshore residency arrangements.

Separate inquiries are examining whether private public-relations and advertising entities linked to Momen overlapped with his editorial and executive role at Independent Television, according to four sources with knowledge of ongoing reviews.

Those sources named firms including Impact PR, Info Power and Window Media as entities under examination for possible conflicts of interest, related-party transactions and political messaging work. 

Corporate records and financial flows linked to those companies are being checked, they said.

No public finding has yet concluded that any of the firms violated law.

One investigator said the central issue is whether a serving media executive used newsroom influence, institutional reputation or internal resources to advance outside commercial or political interests.

“That is where the evidentiary trail is focused,” the investigator said.

Investigators and former newsroom staff also said programming decisions made during the 2024 political unrest are under review, including a documentary broadcast that characterised protesting students in severe terms.

Two former editorial staffers said they had objected internally to language used in the programme and to subsequent efforts to circulate translated versions internationally. 

One said there was pressure to align output with the narrative preferred by the then government.

Bangla Outlook could not independently verify every stage of distribution described by sources. Archived clips confirm the programme aired, but internal editorial instructions were not made available.

Internal benefits and governance pressure

Media analysts say such allegations, if substantiated, would raise serious concerns about the separation between journalism, political advocacy and paid communications.

Three officials familiar with intelligence briefings said authorities are examining whether media and PR coordination continued from Dubai after Momen left Bangladesh. 

They said communications traffic, business contacts and client relationships are part of the review.

No public indictment has alleged that any such coordination constituted a criminal offence. Investigators said the inquiry remains at the stage of tracing instructions, payments and contractual relationships.

Inside Independent Television, another issue repeatedly cited by employees concerns an office vehicle rental arrangement involving a car allegedly owned by Momen.

Human resources and administrative sources said the organisation rented the vehicle for use by a senior digital executive when no pool vehicle was available. According to those sources, the monthly payment was 70,000 taka and continued for more than a year.

Two officials said comparable market rates for similar vehicles were lower, prompting concerns about whether the arrangement represented a conflict of interest or misuse of position. 

Internal records relating to procurement approval were not provided to this newspaper.

The company did not answer questions on whether any board committee approved the rental.

Current and former staff members also alleged that at least one employee with ties to Momen’s outside business interests was recruited into the broadcaster outside normal hiring channels.

Those sources said the employee later had access to sensitive internal information, including management communications and staffing matters. 

No documentary evidence establishing improper recruitment was provided, but multiple sources described similar concerns independently.

The controversy comes as Beximco-linked entities face heightened scrutiny after the political transition that followed the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government in August 2024. 

Regulators, banks and investigative agencies have since reopened multiple files involving corporate debt, lending exposure, related-party dealings and offshore transactions, according to officials and public records.

That wider environment has increased pressure on executives of affiliated institutions, including media companies.

Despite the seriousness of the allegations surrounding residency status, salary continuation, corporate conflicts and financial transfers, no court has convicted Momen of wrongdoing in connection with the matters described in this report.

Investigations remain ongoing, according to officials familiar with the inquiries. Several said forensic accounting reviews, company record analysis and witness interviews are continuing.

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