Illegal Wealth: ACC to go after more suspects
Amid the ongoing crackdown on those involved in graft, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Iqbal Mahmood yesterday hinted at taking action against more people who earned money through illegal means.
“We’ve already made a list of 159 who have amassed wealth illegally … the list is getting longer as the commission is receiving complaints every day,” he told reporters at his office in the ACC’s headquarters in the capital’s Segunbagicha.
The commission will not show any mercy to any corrupt in line with its “zero tolerance policy” against corruption, he said.
The ACC has already sent a list of 105 people to the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) and requested their banking information, he added.
On September 30, the anti-graft body began inquiries into illegal wealth amassed by many following drives by Rab against those involved in illegal gambling businesses and extortion.
Till yesterday, the Commission filed 15 cases, including against Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat, Khaled Mahmud Bhuiyan, and Mohammedan Sporting Club Director In-charge M Lokman Hossain Bhuiyan.
Yesterday, it also filed a case against suspended Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) councillor AKM Mominul Haque Sayeed for amassing Tk 4.47 crore beyond known source of income.
The ACC will step into its 15th anniversary today. Over the years, it has filed around 5,530 cases.
The ACC chairman said that in the last three and half years, at least Tk 15,000 crore was recovered from the banking sector, due to direct or indirect intervention of the Commission.
CASE AGAINST SAYEED
ACC Assistant Director Ataur Rahman Sarkar yesterday filed a case with its integrated district office against suspended councillor of DSCC Ward-9 Sayeed.
According to the case statement, Sayeed had shown moveable properties worth Tk 1.55 crore in his tax return for the fiscal 2018-19.
The commission did not find any specific source of income behind amassing the wealth, it said.
Earlier, the ACC had requested the BFIU to share the details of Sayeed’s different bank accounts.
The financial unit informed the ACC that Sayeed had Tk 2.93 crore in different bank accounts, which did not include the moveable property he had declared in his tax returns.
Sayeed, also the joint general secretary of Dhaka South Jubo League and the president of Arambagh Krira Sangha, is now abroad, sources said.
On September 22, Rab busted illegal casinos housed inside Arambagh Sporting Club, Dilkusha Sporting Club, and Mohammedan Sporting Club, all of which were run by Sayeed.
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