An Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) investigation found detained businessman Giasuddin Al Mamun, and his detained elder brother also a former lawmaker from Bhola, Hafiz Ibrahim, guilty of illegally amassing an enormous amount of wealth in the last five years.
Mamun is also known as the closest aide to detained BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Tarique Rahman.
The total amount of wealth amassed by the brothers in the five years stands at a staggering Tk 171 crore, according to the investigation.
Mamun's earning was Tk 141.74 crore while his brother's was Tk 30.67 crore, and Mamun has a total of 9,000 shares in three industries while the number of bank accounts maintained by the brothers both at home and abroad is close to a hundred.
The brothers are accused of concealing information about their wealth in the statements submitted to the ACC by showing their properties and liquidities under the names of their wives, daughters, and sons.
The investigation report that revealed the fraud was placed before the commission for getting its approval for turning it into a charge sheet against them.
Mamun used his close relation with the elder son Tarique of now detained former premier Khaleda Zia to ride the gravy train, according to the investigation report.
Hafiz was a BNP lawmaker from Bhola-2 constituency enjoying the privilege of his younger brother's relationship with Tarique, who was also known as 'the prince' among the disgruntled general population of the country.
The ACC investigation report was prepared based on documents collected from different government and private institutions including different sub-registry offices of the land department, income tax department, banks, and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).
MAMUN'S WEALTH
Mamun began his career in 1991 as a businessman investing only Tk 39,000. But in the five years between 2001 and 2006 he made an astronomical amount of Tk 141.74 crore, only Tk 30.71crore of which was found to be legal by the ACC.
Mamun's 9,000 shares in the three industries are worth Tk 33.94 crore. Mamun and his wife also own houses, lands, and fixed deposit (FDR) accounts in Bangladesh and abroad.
Mamun used to maintain 45 bank accounts at home and abroad. He has Tk 26.32 crore in three accounts with Natwest Bank and City Bank in London and Singapore respectively. He has 24 FDR accounts in the Banani branch of Dhaka Bank and seven in the Banani branch of Dutch Bangla Bank.
He owns a house in Uttara of the capital, 10 kathas of land in Gulshan of the city, several acres of land in 15 areas of Cox's Bazar, seven acres of land in 11 places at Kaliakoir of Gazipur, and several acres of land in Bhola. The estimated value of the lands is Tk 10.25 crore, according to the ACC report.
Maumn's wife Shahina Yeasmin owns a house in Banani of the capital, another three-storied house in Chhayabithi area of Gazipur, and two six-storied buildings in Baridhara and Dhanmondi areas of the capital.
Most of the properties owned by Mamun were bought between 2002 and 2003.
The ACC report estimated the value of the lands owned by the couple at Tk 16 crore, which the commission investigation found as accumulated illegally.
Mamun's wife has to her name Tk 40.49 lakh in 20 bank accounts, while the couple's two daughters and a son have to their names Tk 76.50 lakh in three FDR accounts.
Meanwhile, five FDR accounts were found under the name of one Asaduzzaman, which the ACC suspects is actually Mamun's account maintained by Asaduzzaman.
The ACC also found four joint FDR accounts under the names of Mamun and Kazi Babul.
MAMUN'S SHARES IN BUSINESSES
Mamun owns 2,000 shares out of total 10,000 shares of Channel 1, the estimated worth of which is Tk 4.33 crore. He also owns 5,000 shares out of total 11,000 shares of Denim Mills Ltd, the worth of which is Tk 24.88 crore. He owns 2,000 shares out of total 10,000 shares of Spinning Mills Ltd, worth Tk 4.74 crore, according to the income tax department.
The total wealth of Mamun family including their cash, and movable and immovable properties is worth Tk 141.74 crore. Mamun whitened Tk 30.22 crore by taking the opportunity of the government's schemes to let black money be whitened at different times. Legally earned wealth of Mamun and his family stands at Tk 30.71crore while the illegally earned wealth stands at Tk 111.3 crore, according to the ACC report.
The ACC had issued a notice to Mamun for submitting his wealth statement in 72 hours of receipt of the notice, but he failed to do so, prompting Deputy Director of ACC Akhter Hamid Bhuiyan to file a non-submission case against Mamun on April 5 under the ACC Act and the Emergency Power Rules 2007.
A special court sentenced Mamun to three years of imprisonment in connection with the case. Assistant Director of ACC Ibrahim filed a case with Cantonment police station against Mamun and his wife on May 8 this year for accumulating wealth illegally. ACC Assistant Director Tahsinul Haque investigated the case.
The Joint forces arrested Mamun from his Gulshan residence on March 26 and he is in Narsinghdi jail now.
HAFIZ IBRAHIM
The total wealth owned by Hafiz Ibrahim stands at Tk 30.67 crore including his legal income and the money he and his wife whitened.
The ACC in its investigation found that Hafiz Ibrahim's illegally accumulated wealth is worth Tk 19.39 crore, Tk 9.49 crore of which is under the name of his wife Mafruza Sultana.
Hafiz Ibrahim owns 542.17 decimals of land at Daulatkhan in Bhola, 27 kathas of land in Dhaka, and an acre in Cox's Bazar, while his wife owns 48 decimals of land in Bhola, over 13 kathas in Dhaka, and about 10 decimals in Barisal.
Immovable properties owned by Hafiz Ibrahim include four houses, while his wife owns three houses. Two of those houses were built on government lands. The houses are in Bhola and Dhaka.
The investigation also found that Hafiz Ibrahim's wife spent about Tk 20 lakh building only the boundary wall around a land the couple had bought, while they spent Tk 40 lakh buying furniture for a house they own in Barisal.
According to the income tax department, Hafiz Ibrahim does not have any savings while his wife has Tk 16 lakh saved.
Hafiz Ibrahim has 27 FDR accounts in 12 banks in the country while his wife has 37 FDR accounts in six banks. Mafruza owns a sports utility vehicle, a car, and three CNG run auto-rickshaws.
The report also mentioned that Hafiz Ibrahim and his wife own an NGO, the office of which was built on a government land.
According to the income tax department, Hafiz Ibrahim whitened Tk 4 crore while his wife whitened Tk 7 crore under SRO-2005.
The tax returns submitted by Hafiz Ibrahim between 2001 and 2006 show that he has no savings as he spent more than his income. He was arrested by the joint forces on February 26 this year.