The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Former BNP MP Salahuddin Ahmed's wife Mrs Shamsunnahar and son Imran Ahmed were yesterday awarded eight years of jail sentences each in two separate tax evasion cases filed by National Board of Revenue (NBR).

Judge Amal Kumar Roy of Special Judge Court-2 situated at parliament complex in the city delivered the judgement.

The court also ordered to confiscate their wealth amounting to Tk 8.26 crore and deposit it to the public exchequer.

At the same time, the court fined the convicts Tk 2.27 crore. In default, they will have to suffer one year of more jail sentence.

The convicts were awarded five years of rigorous imprisonment for concealing the information of their wealth in the income tax return submitted to the NBR and three years of jail sentence in providing false information.

The court, however, said the judgement would be effective from the day of the arrest or surrender of the convicts.

In another case of NBR, Imran Ahmed was fined Tk 2.05 crore, in default, he will have to suffer six months in jail.

Both the convicts have been absconding since the cases were filed against them by the NBR. SM Ibrahim, additional commissioner of taxes, filed the cases with the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Court on September 16 last.

The case against Salahuddin's wife Shamsunnahar in brief is that she did not mention anything about her lands, flats, private cars, investments in the share markets and deposits in the banks in her income tax returns from the fiscal year 2002-2003 to the fiscal year 2006-07. During these years, she concealed the information of wealth of Tk 97.50 lakh and evaded income tax amounting to Tk 21.32 lakh. A total of 13 witnesses submitted depositions to the court.