The Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge on Wednesday ordered the Anti-Corruption Commission to seize 75.46 crore shares, worth Tk 1,458 crore, of 22 companies of the Bashundhara Group in connection with graft allegations.
The court also asked the anti-graft agency to freeze 70 bank accounts having balance of Tk 19 crore and $10,538 of Bashundhara Group chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan and managing director Sayem Sobhan Anvir and their family members and entities.
The court鈥檚 judge, Md Jakir Hossain, passed the order following a petition submitted by ACC assistant director Sajid-ur-Roman in the court in this regard, said ACC deputy director for public relations Aktarul Islam.
The ACC in its petition stated that the graft suspects were trying to hand over the shares and there was a need for a court order to seize the shares and freeze the bank accounts for the sake of a fair probe into the graft allegations.
The 22 companies are Bashundhara East West Property Development (Pvt) Limited, East West Media Group, Bashundhara Tissue Industries, Bashundhara City Development Ltd, Meghna Cement Mills PLC, Bashundhara Paper Mills, Bashundhara LP Gas Limited, Bashundhara Industrial Complex Limited, Bashundhara Steel & Engineering Limited, Bashundhara Food & Beverage Industries Limited, Bashundhara Trading Co Ltd, Crystal Properties Limited, Bashundhara Cement Industries Ltd, United City Twin Tower Developers Limited, Toggi Real Estate and Construction Limited, Bashundhara Infrastructure Development Ltd,聽 Bashundhara Import Export Ltd, Bashundhara Multi Paper Industries, Bashundhara Packaging Industries Ltd, Bashundhara Packaging and Accessories Ltd, Bashundhara Cement Mills and Bashundhara Horticulture Limited.
The owners of the 22 companies鈥� shares are Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, and his family members Sadat Sobhan, Sayem Sobhan, Sabrina Sobhan, Safwan Sobhan, Yeasha Sobhan, and Sonia Ferdowshi Sobhan.
Earlier, on February 18, the same court ordered the seizure of assets of Sayem Sobhan, his wife Sabrina Sobhan and brother and the group鈥檚 vice-chairman Safwan Sobhan Tasvir in the United Arab Emirates, Slovakia and the United Kingdom.
ACC officials said that Sayem Sobhan held the position of managing director in two Slovakian companies 鈥擟alcutronic Holding with a capital of 鈧�5,000, and Gagagugu valued at 鈧�5,000.
He also owns a two-bedroom flat worth Tk聽12.4 crore on the 11th floor of the Burj Khalifa in the UAE and he serves as a director in two UK-based companies 鈥� Worldera Corporation Ltd, where he owns one lakh shares, and ASWA Holdings Ltd, where he holds five lakh shares.
Sayem鈥檚 wife Sabrina Sobhan is a director of UK-based Euroasia Television Network Ltd with 27,000 shares.
Safwan Sobhan is also a director of Global Multi Trade Ltd, another UK company.
ACC officials also said that available records revealed that Ahmed Akbar Sobhan and his wife Afroza Begum, sons and daughters-in-law invested in six companies in Slovakia and the UK and bought a flat in the Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai of the UAE.
Ahmed Akbar Sobhan鈥檚 son and daughter-in-law transacted illegal money in the UAE to buy the flat without approval of the Bangladesh government, they said.
This development follows a November 21, 2024 order in which the same court froze foreign assets of Ahmed Akbar Sobhan and eight of his family members in six countries and two offshore jurisdictions.
On October 21, 2024, the court banned foreign travel of Ahmed Akbar Sobhan and eight of his family members on corruption allegations.
The ACC is conducting inquiries into money laundering allegations against Bashundhara Group chairman Ahamed Akbar Sobhan and his family members.