The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

The Anti-Corruption Commission has decided to submit charge sheet in a case filed against former Law Minister Barrister Moudud Ahmed for acquiring illegal wealth and hiding information about it.

ACC director general (admin) Col Hanif Iqbal told the Commission's regular briefing yesterday afternoon that the ACC has approved the submission of charge sheet in the case against ex-Law Minister and BNP Standing Committee member Moudud for amassing wealth worth Tk 9.04 crore and concealment of information of assets worth Tk 4.5 crore.

The charge sheet in the case filed with Gulshan police station on September 16, 2007 will be submitted under sections 26(2) and 27(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004 and section 15 of the Emergency Power Rules, 2007. Hanif said the Commission has also approved the submission of charge sheet in the case against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's APS (former senior assistant secretary) Obaidul Moqtadir Chowdhury and his wife Fahima. Khatun for acquiring wealth worth Tk 1.16 crore beyond their known sources of income, including concealment of information of wealth worth Tk 73.58 lakh.

He said the ACC has approved the filing of two cases against former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's assignment officer Dr Firoj Mahmud Iqbal for causing a loss to the national exchequre by taking bribe and abuse of power.

The first case will be filed against Firoj and former LGED executive engineer, Bogra Anisur Rahman for causing a loss of Tk 24 lakh to the government by implementing different projects giving false names to gain personal and family interests.

The second case will be filed against Firoj, Anisur and former superintending engineer of Roads and Highways Habibur Rahman for taking Tk 1.33 crore in bribe from the contractors working in different LGED projects and Tk 14 lakh from the contractors of Roads and Highways.

Responding to a question about a ward commissioner, also a listed criminal the photo of whom carried by some national dailies showing him next to ACC the chairman while leading an anti-corruption rally in Chittagong's Patia upazila, Hanif told the briefing that it is to be examined as to how the person came next to the ACC chief.

"It'll also have to be seen whether this happened out of anyone's knowledge. I can't say right at the moment how he (ward commissioner) came (next to the ACC chairman)."

Later, Hanif told UNB that the ACC chairman did not know the identity of the person at that time.

"The anti-corruption rally in Patia was open to all and there was no mechanism in place to decide as to who will be where in the rally," he said, adding, "The ACC chairman doesn't notice as to who stands where during a rally."

The director general informed the briefing that the ACC approved issuance of notices to former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's protocol officer Faridul Islam, now a research consultant at Bangladesh Science Foundation, and former Shatkhira-4 MP Kazi Alauddin's brother Kazi Imam Uddin, directing them to submit their wealth statements.

He said the wealth statements of SAM Salimullah, senior vice-president of First Securities Bank Ltd, and former director of Rupali Bank Mohammad Hossain have been submitted to the Commission.