Graft Case

Salman, Sohel, Mahmudur to be chargesheeted

9 June 2008, 18:00 PM

Unb, Dhaka

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) will submit a charge sheet against Salman F Rahman, Sohel F Rahman, former energy adviser Mahmudur Rahman and four others in a case for misappropriating over Tk 128 crore. The money was withdrawn from Sonali Bank as loan in the name of Shine Pukur Holding Ltd. The trio has also been accused of cheating and using fake documents to take out the loan. ACC Director General (Admin) Col Hanif Iqbal told the Commission's regular briefing yesterday that the anti-graft watchdog has approved the submission of charge sheet against detained Shine Pukur Vice Chairman Salman Rahman, Chairman Sohel Rahman and Mahmudur Rahman, also ex-chairman of the Board of Investment. The charge sheet in the case, filed with Motijheel Police Station on September 30, 2007, will be submitted under sections 409/420/467/468/471/109 and section 5(2) of the Corruption Prevention Act, 1947. Hanif, the ACC spokesperson, said the Commission has also approved the submission of charge sheets in the cases against former state minister Ziaul Haque Zia, his wife and son and former BRTC chairman Taimur Alam Khandaker. Zia, his wife Nasima Haque and son Mashfiqul Haque will be charge-sheeted in the case filed for acquiring wealth beyond their known sources of income, while Taimur will be charge-sheeted for recruiting people illegally to the BRTC. He said the Commission has approved the filing of a case against former whip Zahed Ali Chowdhury for amassing wealth worth Tk 1.30 crore illegally and concealing information about it. About exempting detained former prime minister Sheikh Hasina from appearing in court in the cases filed by the ACC, Hanif said after submission of charge sheet in a case it is the jurisdiction of the court to make such a decision. “The ACC is not a stakeholder (in the case). There is no scope for it to give its opinion in this matter,” he added. Asked whether others can get the exemption like Hasina, Hanif said it is the discretion of the court. Asked if the cases against Hasina would lose the momentum or get weak, Hanif said such preposition is not relevant here as nobody has been exempted from cases. About the resignation of ACC Chairman Lt Gen (retd) Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury as reported in a section of the press, Hanif said the Commission is not aware if there is any basis of the resignation-related information published in the newspapers. “The ACC has no information or basis by which it can be said that he (chairman) resigned,” he said, adding that the matter would become clear within a day or two. Hanif said the ACC chairman is now in the United Arab Emirates on vacation and he might return home cutting short his tour due to illness of his mother.