Bringing money launderers to book HC slams ACC for failure
The High Court has blasted the Anti-Corruption Commission once again for its failure in bringing money launderers to book.
"The commission is very powerful. It can summon anyone, freeze bank accounts, prevent someone from going abroad and conduct probe into corruption allegations," observed the court.
"It is unfortunate if it fails to stop money laundering," it then said.
The bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman made the statements yesterday while hearing a writ petition and a suo motu rule involving this issue.
The court also observed that the money launderers are the enemy of the country and all corruption must be eradicated from the country at any cost.
"Please, comply with our directives to prevent money laundering. The people of Bangladesh are brilliant and hard-working. If corruption can be eradicated, the golden Bangla, dreamed by Bangabandhu, can be established," Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder told the ACC's lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan.
The HC bench ordered the six-member committee, formed by the criminal investigation department (CID) of police, to probe the money laundering, including a representative from the national board of revenue (NBR).
The committee has been directed to submit a progress report to this court by April 10.
The CID constituted the committee on February 15 led by deputy inspector general (DIG), organised crime of CID) in Dhaka.
Other members of the committee are additional DIG, the central crime of CID in Dhaka, additional DIG of CID in Dhaka and Mymensingh, representatives from ACC and Bangladesh Intelligence Unit (BFIU) and special superintendent of police, legal affairs of CID in Dhaka.
Special superintendent of police, the financial crime of CID in Dhaka, has been made member secretary of the committee, Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik told the HC while placing the report on the formation of the committee.
Earlier on January 30, the HC ordered the ACC and the CID to submit to this court by yesterday reports on the progress of the investigation into the allegations of money laundering against Bangladeshi nationals whose names were published in the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers.
The bench also directed the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) to submit before it by yesterday the names of Bangladeshi individuals who deposited money in foreign banks, including those in Switzerland.
Lawyer Subir Nandi Das appeared as the writ petitioners, while lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan argued for ACC and DAG AKM Amin Uddin Manik represented the state during the hearing.
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