The Anti-Corruption Commission has found evidences of huge amounts of illegal assets, including land and flats, of former Dhaka Power Distribution Company chief engineer Md Belayet Hossain and his wife Shamsun Nahar.
鈥楢n inquiry is now at the final stage over graft allegations against the ex-DPDC chief engineer and the next step will be taken based on the inquiry report,鈥� said ACC deputy director for public relations Md Aktarul Islam.
An inquiry team led by the anti-graft agency鈥檚 assistant director, Hafizur Rahman, is probing the allegations of amassing illegal assets through abuse of power and bribery against Belayet and his wife.
As part of the probe, the ACC earlier sent letters to over 70 public and private offices, including banks, insurance companies, the National Board of Revenue, city corporations and land offices, seeking records related to the allegations against the two.
After receiving the information, the ACC inquiry team scrutinised the information on the assets of Balayet and his wife and found proofs that most of the allegations against them as true, said an official involved with the inquiry.
鈥榃e will submit our inquiry report to the commission soon, recommending a case be filed against them,鈥� the official added.
According to the allegations, Belayet, son of Abdul Ali from Lakshmipur village at Bhandaria upazila in Pirojpur, once struggled through student life to bear the cost of his study. After completing his education from the Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, he joined the power sector job. He retired as DPDC chief engineer.
During his job tenure, Balayet allegedly amassed a huge amount of wealth in his name and his wife鈥檚 name, evading taxes and concealing assets.
According to the allegations, Belayet owned two luxury flats 鈥� measuring 1,800 square feet each 鈥� at a residential building at Dhanmondi. He declared the value of the flats at Tk聽94.18 lakh, but the actual market price of the properties is estimated at over Tk聽4.5 crore.
Additionally, he owns 412.5 decimals of land at Khilgaon鈥檚 Ulon mouza, officially valued at Tk聽2.3 lakh, but the actual value of the land is nearly Tk聽1 crore, another 2.8 kathas of land valued at Tk 6.72 lakh, but the actual value of the property is Tk聽1.25 crore.
He also holds two plots 鈥� five kathas and 10 kathas 鈥� at Aftabnagar in the capital and purchased several bighas of land at Demra, Ashulia, Keraniganj in Dhaka and Gazipur in the names of his relatives.
He has deposited crores of takas in banks and owned a Toyota Corolla vehicle.
Belayet is also accused of running a garments business through his sister Najmun Nahar and brother-in-law Kamruzzaman and hid more properties as the business is not mentioned in his income tax returns.
His disclosed assets in his tax returns also omit about 50 tolas of gold ornaments, foreign medical treatment expenses in Singapore and India, and multiple undisclosed investments, according to the allegations.
The complaint also stated that his wife, Shamsun Nahar, a housewife who had no visible income, also possessed assets worth several crores.
Although her tax return claims wealth worth about Tk聽59 lakh, she owned multiple plots of land, including Tk聽2 crore worth of land at Haji Para and Rampura, several FDRs in banks, and a Toyota Corolla purchased in her name but later registered under a relative abroad.
Belayet in his tax return showed a certain amount of assets, the actual wealth of the former chief engineer and his wife is alleged to be many times higher.
Almost all the allegations against Belayet and his wife was found true during the ongoing inquiry, said an ACC official involved with the inquiry.
鈥榃e got a fresh allegation of corruption against him. So the submission of the inquiry report is being delayed,鈥� he added.
Belayet could not be reached for comment despite several attempts over phone.
