The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

A special court trying high-profile corruption suspects Thursday sentenced detained former state minister for power Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku for nine years in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

He was sentenced to 2 years simple imprisonment for concealing his wealth and 7 years rigorous imprisonment for amassing wealth illegally through "abuse of power".

Convict Tuku will have to serve seven years in jail, as both the sentences run "concurrently", court sources said. Handing down the sentences, Judge M Ashraf Hossain also fined him Tk 50 lakh, in default, to suffer one year more in prison. The court also ordered confiscation of his property worth about Tk 3 crore to the state coffer.

The court could not try Tuku's family members implicated in the case-his wife, son and daughter-on charges of aiding and abetting the family head in protecting the ill-gotten wealth worth about Tk 5 crore, as the High Court, following petition in August, stayed the case proceedings against them.

On March 21, the ACC filed the case accusing Tuku and his family of making wealth over Tk 5 crore beyond their known sources of income and concealing information about their actual assets.