Ex-health official, his wife sued for amassing Tk 284cr illegally
Suspended Directorate General of Health Services employees Abzal Hossain and his wife Rubina Khanam deposited about Tk 284 crore to different banks in the name of their business organisations.
The couple also withdrew the money from the banks through deception, the Anti-Corruption Commission has found.
ACC Deputy Director Toufiqul Islam yesterday filed two separate cases against the duo.
The ACC in January wrote a letter to the superintendent of police of Special Branch to make sure that the couple could not flee the country.
According to yesterday’s case statements, Rubina founded Rahman Trade International and apparel store Rupa Fashion. In the name of the businesses, the couple opened several accounts with different banks and deposited there Tk 284 crore.
They gained the amount from different projects to supply medical equipment and goods to medical colleges and hospitals under the DGHS, the statements said.
“To conceal the source of the money, they laundered it through various channels,” reads one of the statements.
Abzal and Rubina on February 11 submitted their wealth statements to the ACC.
The commission found in the statement that the couple amassed about Tk 36 crore beyond their known source of income and concealed information of about Tk 7 crore in their wealth statement.
Abzal joined the DGHS as office assistant of a project in 1995. He had set up a syndicate at the health ministry and managed jobs for about seven of his relatives, including brothers and brothers-in-law, at different offices under the ministry.
The couple owns four five-storey buildings and a plot in the capital’s Uttara.
The ACC also found that they have several other plots and houses at different places, including Dhaka and Faridpur.
In 2012, the graft watchdog first summoned Abzal for quizzing about his wealth, but he did not appear before it.
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