The Genie Gave The Money

Abdul Mannan Khan

Former state minister for housing and public works Abdul Mannan Khan and his wife have had their wealth increased by 107 times in the last five years.
The couple had wealth and property worth about Tk 10.33 lakh ahead of the ninth parliamentary elections. According to a statement submitted to the Election Commission this month, they have wealth worth about Tk 11.03 crore.
In the affidavit, he however did not clarify the sources of his money elaborately.
The Daily Star tried to reach him over the phone for more than 10 times and sent him a text to know how he increased his wealth 107 times in just five years, but he did not respond.
The annual income of the former state minister and his wife was Tk 3.85 lakh, of which his wife’s was Tk 2 lakh, before the last polls. But after the elections, their yearly income increased to Tk 3.28 crore, including his wife’s share of Tk 1.76 crore, giving their income a 100-fold rise.
As shown in his latest statement, Mannan earned Tk 1.45 crore while his wife Tk 1.73 crore from miscellaneous sources — fish farms and remittance. But he did not give the details of how much money they had earned from which particular source as wanted in the affidavit form.
WEALTH & PROPERTY
Mannan, an Awami League leader who was elected lawmaker from Dhaka-1 constituency, and his wife had moveable wealth and property including cash, shares, bank deposit, vehicles, gold, electronics and furniture worth around Tk 6.47 lakh in 2008.
This time the couple has declared moveable wealth and property worth Tk 2.15 crore, an increase by 208 times. Interestingly, they have no money in any bank, as per Mannan’s wealth statement.
They had no savings certificates or Fixed Deposit Return (FDR) in 2008, but now they have Tk 50 lakh in savings certificates and FDR.
Mannan and his wife had cash Tk 51,000 and Tk 25,000 respectively before the ninth parliamentary elections. Now they have Tk 40 lakh and Tk 15 lakh respectively, according to the wealth statements.
The AL leader in his previous affidavit mentioned that he and his wife had non-agricultural land worth Tk 2.45 lakh, which has now increased to around Tk 1.96 crore.
They had no apartment, house or building as mentioned in the 2008 wealth statement, but now Mannan has two apartments and one building worth Tk 3.64 crore. They had no fish farms ahead of the last election, but this time they have shown that they own 10 fish farms inherited from their parents.
Mannan in his first year in office maintained a tough stance against land grabbers, but in the following years his position reportedly grew softer.
Mannan Khan was AL’s Office Secretary and its prospective candidate for Dhaka-1 constituency. But AL President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina removed him from the party position this month and gave the seat to a Jatiya Party candidate to contest.

Nur-e-Alam Chowdhury

Awami League lawmaker Nur-e-Alam Chowdhury Liton and his wife have increased their property by 66.49 times in last five years of grand alliance rule.
According to an affidavit submitted before the ninth parliamentary election in 2008, the value of their moveable and immovable property was Tk 62.63 lakh. However, the amount has shot up to Tk 41.64 crore in last five years, according to a wealth statement recently submitted to the Election Commission.
Their wealth and property include cash, bank deposit, investment in Modhumoti Bank, business, BSP and FDR, motor vehicle, ornaments, electronics, furniture, shrimp enclosure, land and buildings.
The AL leader has invested Tk 20 crore in Modhumoti Bank, while the couple have invested another Tk 13.19 crore in shrimp enclosure.
In the last election, Liton, whip of parliament and nephew of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, claimed his annual income was Tk 4.48 lakh from business.
However, the income of Liton and his wife has increased to Tk 14.67 crore in 2013. Their income sources include agriculture, shrimp enclosure, business, bank interest, allowance from parliament as whip and honorarium from business organisations as director.
Liton is set to be elected uncontested in the next parliamentary polls from the Madaripur-1 constituency. He could not be reached over phone as his cellphone was found to be switched off.

Hasan Mahmud

Five years ago, Nuran Fatema, wife of Environment Minister Hasan Mahmud, was a mere homemaker having assets worth Tk 60,000, as per the minister’s wealth statement before the 9th parliamentary polls.
But since, she had some miracles working for her as her assets turned into a massive Tk 13.74 crore, growing 2,290 times.
The minister argues that there was nothing strange about it as he had transferred to his wife his deep-sea container service “Bismillah Marine Service”, which was launched sometime prior to 2008 polls.
However, Bismillah Marine Service is not a company enlisted with the Shipping Agents Association of Bangladesh, Secretary General of the organisation Harun Meah told The Daily Star.
According to Hasan’s latest statement, he accumulated four times the wealth he had shown back in 2008.
In 2008, he claimed to have assets worth Tk 37.57 lakh, which now stands at Tk 1.72 crore. He also claimed to have taken a loan of Tk 1.93 crore from his wife and three friends.
His annual income now stands at Tk 18.74 lakh, up from Tk 5.29 lakh in 2008.
Over all, the Mahmud couple now officially claims to own a fortune of Tk 15.46 crore, which is a stunning 40-fold increase from a mere Tk 38.17 lakh, including his wife’s Tk 60,000, five years ago.
The minister’s wealth statements of 2008 and 2013 are full of loopholes. For instance, the latest statement puts the asset value of his wife’s company at just Tk 9 lakh while its annual income declared is Tk 1.75 crore.
The 2008 statement showed Tk 1.6 lakh as Fatema’s annual income although she has been declared as a homemaker. Now her total annual income stands at Tk 1.93 crore.
Given that she did not spend a single penny during this period, her five years’ accumulated income should be Tk 9.65 crore, which falls far short of her claimed asset of Tk 13.74 crore.
Born in 1963, Hasan got affiliated with politics during his student life and became the president of Chittagong University unit Chhatra League, pro-Awami League student body.
He became a lawmaker for the first time in 2008. He is also the publicity secretary of ruling Awami League. This year Hasan filed his candidature from Chittagong-7 constituency and has been elected unopposed.
According to his this year’s wealth statement, he earns Tk 1.02 lakh from house rent, Tk 1.40 lakh from shares, saving certificates and bank interests and Tk 16.30 lakh from as remuneration for being a lawmaker and a minister.
He has Tk 6 lakh in cash, Tk 8 lakh bank deposits, shares worth Tk 9.60 lakh, motor vehicles worth Tk 66.8 lakh, gold worth Tk 2.10 lakh, electronic goods of Tk 60,000 and furniture worth Tk 45,000.
Besides, the AL leader owns 31,032 decimal of agricultural land, two pieces of non-agricultural plots worth Tk 16.95 lakh and Tk 14.60 lakh, and a house worth Tk 47.83 lakh (bought in instalment since 2007).
His wife owns Tk 25,000 in cash, Tk 9 lakh as owner of Bismillah Marin Services, shares worth around Tk 9.26 crore, vehicles worth Tk 20.70 lakh and Tk 21 lakh in gold.
She also owns two pieces of non-agricultural land worth Tk 1.78 crore and Tk 38.50 lakh, a building worth Tk 38.5 lakh and office spaces valued Tk 48 lakh and Tk 93.50 lakh.
Hasan said he and his wife had no investment in the capital market and that the shares they owned were of “companies owned by their family”.
He also claimed that they had already sold one of the Bismillah Marine Service’s office spaces at Tk 93.50 lakh and that the land in Chittagong, worth Tk 1.78 crore, was for an orphanage and vocational school of which his wife was a trustee, not the owner.
The minister also said his wife had a loan of Tk 5.75 crore.
According to Hasan’s wealth statement of 2008, he claimed that his wife did not have any gold, but this time he mentioned that his wife had 50 tolas of gold that she got as gift.
Hasan claimed that he had declared the gold in the previous statement but the EC might have missed it.

Aslamul Haq
He was just a person who had studied up to class-VIII with five acres of land in Dhaka five years ago. Now aged 52, he claims to have enrolled in a BBA programme and owns 145 acres in a country where land is so scares.
What changed the fortunes of Aslamul Haque but for the fact that he became a ruling party lawmaker from Dhaka-14 constituency in the 2008 election?
An alleged land grabber, Aslam did not mention in his wealth statement submitted to the Election Commission this month that he owns a couple of power plants.
He grossly undervalued his 14,567 decimals of land (above 145 acres) and claimed that he and his wife had net assets worth only Tk 4.94 crore after deducting their bank liabilities of Tk 4.70 crore.
As per his statement for the 2008 election, the net value of their assets was Tk 1.44 crore.
For this election, he valued his 14,178 decimals of land at Tk 95.11 lakh and the 389.54 decimals of land of his wife at Tk 97.89 lakh without mentioning where the pieces of land were. Interestingly, with the Tk 95.11 lakh, even 14 decimals of land cannot be bought in or around Dhaka city.
In 2008, he had shown that his five acres of land was on average priced at Tk 6,466 a decimal. A piece of land of about 1.15 acres in Amin Bazar, on the outskirts of the capital, was valued at just Tk 3.75 lakh.
This time, the lowest value of per decimal of land he mentioned was around Tk 670, which is insanely low and the price of land going down in Bangladesh is almost unheard of.
The couple owns two cars worth around Tk 1 crore, a flat valued at Tk 1.43 crore, shares worth just under Tk 1 crore, 83 tolas of gold, and cash Tk 2.71 crore, according to his statement submitted to the EC.
In 2008, he had claimed that he had 120 tolas of gold.
For this election, he showed the capital of his business (Mayesha Properties Development) was just Tk 7.25 lakh from which he claims to earn Tk 9.52 lakh yearly and his wife earned around Tk 6.15 lakh from an investment of around Tk 8.85 lakh.
In 2008, he claimed to have a yearly family income of just under Tk 5 lakh but this time he says it is Tk 35.70 lakh, including his salary as a lawmaker which is Tk 13.51 lakh a year.
He said he and his wife had 96,675 shares valued at Tk 100 each, an increase of 16,800 shares over 2008.
In the last statement before the EC, he mentioned Mayesha Properties Development as his business but the same statement says his establishment had expanded to real estate, chemical imports and consumer products and trading.

Nazrul Islam Babu

The wealth and property of Awami League lawmaker Nazrul Islam Babu and his wife increased by 24.78 times in last five years.
According to a wealth statement submitted to the Election Commission before the ninth parliamentary election in 2008, value of their moveable and non-movable property was Tk 21.67 lakh. In the recent statement submitted to the EC, the AL leader showed they had property worth Tk 5.37 crore.
Their wealth and property include cash, bank deposit, share, bond, postal savings, savings certificates, motor vehicle, gold and other valuables, furniture, land, building, and apartment.
Babu owns huge non-agricultural land worth Tk 2.1 crore and house as well as apartment worth Tk 81 lakh.
Apart from these, he claimed he had a 33.13-decimal piece of land and his wife had 78 tolas of gold. However, prices of the gold ornaments and land were not mentioned in the affidavit.
In the last election, Nazrul, also former general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League, claimed he and his wife had an annual income of Tk 5.33 lakh. The latest statement says the couple’s annual income has shot up to Tk 98.8 lakh.
The sources of their income include agriculture, business, share, profession and fish farming. In the affidavit, Nazrul claimed himself as an importer and supplier, while his wife is a doctor.
Babu is set to be elected uncontested from the Narayanganj-2 constituency in the next parliamentary polls scheduled for January 5, 2014.

Jahangir Kabir Nanak

Awami League leader and former state minister for LGRD and cooperatives Jahangir Kabir Nanak and his wife have earned Tk 7.3 crore in last five years, according to his wealth statement placed to the Election Commission (EC) this month.
The couple now have wealth worth Tk 8.28 crore together which was Tk 97.84 lakh before the last parliamentary polls held on December 29, 2008. Of the total wealth, Nanak’s wife owns Tk 5.07 crore, which was Tk 52 lakh earlier.
Nanak, also joint general secretary of Awami League, and his wife had an annual income of Tk 9.43 lakh in 2008, according to his wealth statement submitted to the EC before the previous parliamentary polls.
But after the election, their annual increased to Tk 46.47 lakh.
The Daily Star tried to contact Nanak over the phone for the last three days to know how their money had increased. He could not be reach.
Nanak was elected from Dhaka-13 constituency in 2008. He has already been elected uncontested in the parliamentary election slated for January 5 next year.
WEALTH & PROPERTY
Nanak and his wife had cash Tk 11.55 lakh before the last polls. Now they have in hands cash Tk 93.39 lakh together, eight times higher than the previous figure. The former state minister and his wife had savings in bank worth Tk 20,000 and Tk 2.3 lakh respectively, while now they have Tk 40 lakh and Tk 79 lakh respectively. Nanak had share business worth Tk 3.2 lakh which remains the same. However, his wife’s share business worth Tk 2.9 lakh has increased to Tk 1.44 crore.
In postal savings he had Tk 10 lakh, while his wife had Tk 12.9 lakh. Now they have Tk 27 lakh and Tk 1.6 crore respectively. The price of their motor vehicle was Tk 15.25 lakh in 2008 which is Tk 63.06 lakh now, according to Nanak’s wealth statement.
Nanak in his 2008 wealth statement mentioned that he had only 10 decimals of agricultural land worth Tk 35,000. Now he has 1.92 acres and 30 decimals of such land. The AL leader in the statement said he did not know the price of the 1.92-acre land. He however has shown the price of 30 decimal land as Tk 11 lakh.
Nanak and his wife had three katha and two decimals of non-agricultural land respectively. The price shown in the last election’s wealth statement was Tk 3.6 lakh and Tk 15,000 respectively.
In the current wealth statement, Nanak has shown that he has 149.17 decimals of land, of which he owns 44.83 decimals worth Tk 28.17 lakh.
He also showed that his wife had a 1,874-square-foot flat worth Tk 25 lakh in 2008. Now he shows a flat under his wife’s name which is worth Tk 17.5 lakh. He had no building in 2008, but now he shows he has a building worth Tk 1.3 crore.
The AL leader, however, has declared that he has a Tk 2.5 crore home loan from Agrani Bank.

Abdus Shahid

Property of Awami League lawmaker and Chief Whip in Parliament Abdus Shahid and his wife has increased 3.02 times in last five years.
Shahid in 2008 said he along with his wife had owned moveable and immoveable property worth around Tk 86.85 lakh. In another wealth statement submitted to the Election Commission this month before the next general elections, he said their property was worth Tk 2.63 crore.
The AL leader before the ninth national polls in 2008 said his annual income was Tk 2.59 lakh and his wife had no income at all. But in 2013 the couple has an annual income of Tk 50.76 lakh.
Shahid is set to be elected uncontested from the Moulavibazar-4 constituency in the next polls scheduled for January 5, 2014.

Sheikh Selim

Awami League leader Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim has become wealthier in last five years as his property doubled during his party-led grand alliance rule.
According to a statement he submitted to the Election Commission in 2008, Selim had moveable and immoveable property worth around Tk 2.09 crore.
Now his property is worth Tk 4.31 crore.
Although Selim’s wealth has increased by Tk 2.22 crore in last five years, he has shown Tk 26.39 lakh [26.39x5=Tk 1.31 crore] as his annual income in his assets statement.
He has mentioned share business, bank savings and remuneration, which he received as a lawmaker, as his sources of income. The presidium member of the ruling Awami League has also mentioned business [share market] as his profession.
The value of his immoveable property like land, building and apartments remains almost unchanged, but that of his moveable property has doubled.
His immoveable property was worth Tk 65.07 lakh in 2008 and is worth Tk 66.14 lakh in 2013.
He had moveable property like cash, bank savings, investment in share market, motor vehicles, gold, electronics and furniture worth Tk 1.44 crore in 2008. In 2013 his movable property has increased to Tk 3.65 crore.
He had Tk 46.18 lakh in cash in 2008 but, interestingly, he had Tk 2 lakh and his wife Tk 1 lakh when the last statement was submitted.
The total property Selim and his wife had in 2008 was worth Tk 3.08 crore, but the figure became Tk 5.36 crore in 2013.
Selim stated that his wife had 270 tolas of gold and mentioned its value as Tk 20 lakh. But the current market value of 270 tolas of gold would be more than Tk 1 crore.
Selim was the health and family welfare minister during the last Awami League government (1996-2001) and was arrested during the last military-backed caretaker rule.