Ex-BNP minister Mosharraf indicted

A Dhaka court yesterday framed charges against BNP standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain in a money laundering case.

He amassed more than Tk 9.5 crore by misusing power when he was health minister between 2001 and 2006, and deposited the money in a bank in the UK, according to the case statement. Nasim Anwar, a director of the Anti-Corruption Commission, filed the case with Ramna Police Station, in February last year.

The BNP leader, now in jail, pleaded not guilty after the Dhaka Special Judge Court-1 read out the charges to him.

The court fixed November 29 to begin the trail.

The anti-graft body in an investigation found that the money had been kept in a joint account of Mosharraf and his wife Bilkis Akhter with Lloyds TSB Offshore Private Banking, St Peterport, Guernsey, Channel Island, GY 14EN, UK.

A report of the Financial Investigation Unit, Bailiwick of Guernsey, UK cited that the money had been deposited to the bank through laundering, says the case statement.

Earlier, the attorney general on behalf of the ACC sent a Mutual Legal Assistance Request to his UK counterpart, seeking necessary information regarding the money laundering. The UK Attorney General's Office later responded with the information, the plaintiff said.

He added that the BNP leader and his wife had not mentioned the amount in their income tax returns.

The anti-graft body began looking into the allegation of the corruption in late 2012.

In August last year, the ACC submitted the charge sheet to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court of Dhaka, naming eight people as prosecution witnesses.

During the investigation, Mosharraf told the investigation officer that he had earned the money while studying in the UK between 1970 and 1975 but failed to show any document to substantiate his claim.

However, his wife's name was not included in the charge sheet, as her direct involvement had not been found.

Mosharraf was arrested on February 6 last year. Four days later, the High Court granted him anticipatory bail for six weeks in the case.

On February 24, the Supreme Court cancelled the HC bail.