ACC to probe Syed Iskander's wealth

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has decided to initiate a primary inquiry into the wealth of former prime minister Khaleda Zia's younger brother and former BNP lawmaker Major (retd) Syed Iskander.
According to sources, the commission has already appointed its Deputy Director Moniruzzaman Khan to conduct the inquiry against Iskander, also a BNP vice-chairman.
At the onset of the Awami League government in 1996, now-defunct Bureau of Anti-Corruption issued a notice to Iskander directing him to submit his wealth statement.
Subsequently, the High Court, following a writ petition by Iskander challenging the legality of the notice, issued a stay order on the functioning of the notice. But that stay order has been vacated recently, prompting the ACC to begin an inquiry.
If anything suspicious is found in the primary inquiry, the ACC will issue a notice directing him to submit his wealth statement, the sources said.
The notice was issued to him in 1996 under the Corruption Prevention Act, 1947 and this time notice will be issued under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004 and the Anti-Corruption Commission Rules, 2007.
Meanwhile, the ACC chose two officers to investigate the two cases filed Sunday against former Prime Ministers Khaleda Zia, Sheikh Hasina and 10 others for alleged corruption in awarding deals to Niko, ACC Director General (Admin) Col Hanif Iqbal told reporters yesterday afternoon.
The Commission has appointed Deputy Director Akhter Hossain to inquire into the wealth of Dhaka City Mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka who submitted his wealth statement to the ACC on December 6.