Money Laundering Charges Against Khaleda, Harris
ACC investigation continues
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is conducting inquiries into money laundering charges against BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and her former political secretary Harris Chowdhury alongside a dozen high profile political and non-political persons.
"ACC is currently conducting inquiries into around 15 allegations of money laundering against some people including Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia and Harris Chowdhury", Advocate Md Khurshid Alam Khan, lawyer of the commission, told the news agency yesterday.
ACC has already filed around 30 money laundering cases against a number of people including Khaleda's two sons Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman Koko, BNP lawmaker Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, former BNP shipping minister late Akbar Hossain's son Ismail Hossain Simon, businessman Giasuddin Al Mamun, former chairman of Proshika Qazi Faruque Ahmed, his son Qazi Rubayat Ahmed, unipay2u Chairman Shahiduzzaman alias Shahin, its Managing Director Muntasir Hossain, and Assistant Manager of Power Grid Company of Bangladesh Arshad Ali.
Trial of one of the money laundering cases had already been completed, in which Koko and Simon were convicted of laundering SGD 2,884,000 and USD 932,000 to Singapore and jailed for six years and fined Tk 19.041 crore.
Around 15 cases of money laundering are under trial while 15 others under investigation, an ACC official said, adding that most of such cases were lodged during the immediate past caretaker government.
ACC on July 7, 2010 pressed money-laundering charges against BNP Senior Vice-chairman Tarique Rahman and his business partner Giasuddin Al Mamun on charge of laundering Tk 20.41 crore between 2003 and 2007.
On August 11 this year, the High Court vacated its earlier stay order that cleared the way for continuing a money laundering case filed against Qazi Faruque Ahmed, former chairman of Proshika, and his son Qazi Rubayat Ahmed on charge of laundering Tk 1.03 crore.
ACC on October 11, 2009 sued unipay2u Chairman Shahiduzzaman alias Shahin and Managing Director Muntasir Hossain on charges of fraudulently collected Tk 246.13 crore and split the cash into their own and the organisation's accounts to conceal the source of the fund.
The commission earlier sued BNP lawmaker Salauddin Quader Chowdhury on charges of laundering $250,000 and HK$100,000 ($12,864) to buy Beximco Pharmaceuticals' global depository receipts (GDRs).
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