The Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Court on Monday ordered the Anti-Corruption Commission to seize 12.16 acres of land owned by the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 former adviser on private industry and investment, Salman F Rahman, and people linked to his interests in Gazipur.
The court also asked ACC to freeze 21 bank accounts of former Dhaka South City Corporation mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh and his two sons while it also ordered the commission to seize a 39-katha plot in Gulshan and 14-bigha plot in Sonargaon, owned by NASSA Group chairman Nazrul Islam Mazumder.
Judge Md Sabbir Faiz passed the orders following separate petitions submitted by the ACC, said ACC deputy director for public relations Aktarul Islam.
According to the petition, a total of 30 accused, including Salman F Rahman, allegedly abused their authority and colluded with each other in committing fraud and forgery by abnormally overvaluing mortgaged properties at IFIC Bank PLC鈥檚 principal branch in Dhaka.
The accused took Tk 1,000 crore from the public through the sale of bonds and deposited the amount in the current account of Sreepur Twinship Ltd. From there, Tk 200 crore was used to open FDRs in a redemption account, while the remaining Tk 800 crore was allegedly transferred to the accounts of Beximco Engineering Ltd, other Beximco entities and various organisations.
The funds were then withdrawn in cash and through suspicious transactions in violation of banking rules, leading to their alleged embezzlement.
The ACC mentioned in the petition that seizing 12.16 acres of land held by Salman F Rahman and his affiliates was essential for an impartial investigation.
Meanwhile, the court ordered ACC to freeze 21 bank accounts of former DSCC mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh and his two sons, Sheikh Fazle Nawar and Sheikh Fazle Nashwan.
The petition stated that while serving as the mayor of DSCC, Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh abused his power and unlawfully acquired assets worth Tk 731.9 million. It also alleged that through 27 bank accounts held in his name, he transferred and laundered Tk 539.16 crore and $5,17,527 in suspicious transactions, constituting offences of illicit enrichment and money laundering.
鈥楾aposh鈥檚 assets could not yet be completely identified. Twenty-one bank accounts have so far been traced under his name, as well as those of his children and related beneficiaries. To prevent the transfer, disposal or misuse of these movable assets, it is essential to freeze the 21 bank accounts,鈥� it added.
Apart from this, the court ordered the ACC to seize a 39-katha plot in Gulshan and 14-bigha plot in Sonargaon, owned by NASSA Group chairman Nazrul Islam Mazumder.
The petition stated that Nazrul abused his power and acquired assets worth Tk 781.31 crore, disproportionate to his known sources of income, through bribery and corruption, and kept them under his possession. A case was filed against him over these allegations.