The Anti-Corruption Commission found huge movable and immovable assets of National Board of Revenue first secretary [Taxes Legal and Enforcement] Quazi Abu Mahmud Faisal and his family members allegedly amassed through corruption.
The allegation of amassing illegal wealth by the NBR official came at a time when the immediate past president of Customs, Excise, and VAT Appellate Tribunal, Matiur Rahman, was facing an ACC inquiry over similar allegations.
The Dhaka metropolitan senior special judge court on Thursday ordered the seizure of the movable and immovable assets of NBR official Faisal and his family members following a petition submitted by the ACC.
ACC assistant director Mustafiz and the inquiry officer mentioned in the petition that they found a huge wealth of the NBR official during an inquiry regarding allegations of amassing illegal wealth by Faisal.
There is an allegation that Faisal owns the wealth through various forms of corruption, including taking bribes for transfers of income tax officials and threatening income tax providers.
Following the ACC petition, Senior Special Judge Mohammed Ash-Shams Joglul Hossain ordered the seizure of the wealth of Faisal, his wife, Afsana Jesmin, and other family members.
ACC lawyer Mosharraf Hossain Kajol said that the ACC inquiry team found movable and immovable assets worth Tk 16 crore for the NBR official and his family.
According to the ACC findings, Faisal’s wife, Afsana Jasmin, owned a five-katha plot worth Tk 75 lakh in the capital’s Badda and another plot in the Purbachal new town project.
Faisal and his wife also own another five-katha plot worth Tk 34 lakh in Badda, while Faisal has three joint plots in Rupganj, Narayanganj, and another plot at Nandipara, Dhaka.
A flat of 2,990 square feet worth Tk 1 crore in Siddishari Road under Ramna police station in Dhaka was found in the name of his relative Ahmed Ali, while a 10-katha plot worth Tk 4.50 crore in Khilgaon was found in the name of another relative, Momtaz Begum.
The court, in the order, asked the sub-registration offices of Gulshan, Tajgaon, Khilgaon, and Rupganj for necessary measures as the assets could not be handed over until further order.
The court also ordered the freezing of savings certificates worth Tk 50 lakh in two branches of Mercantile Bank in the name of Faisal and his wife›s savings certificates worth Tk 50 lakh at Mercantile and Sonali banks.
The court also froze savings certificates worth Tk 30 lakh in the name of Aftab Ali, Tk 30 lakh in the name of Kazi Khalid Hasan, Tk 40 lakh in the name of Hafizur Rahman, Tk 50 lakh in the name of Ahmed Ali, and Tk 5 lakh in the name of Mahmuda Hasan—all relatives and family members of Faisal.
Apart from this, the court also ordered the seizure of 87 bank accounts belonging to the NBR official, his wife, Afsan Jesmin, and other family members and relatives.
It ordered the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, the National Savings Directorate, and the banks not to allow Faisal and his relatives to withdraw money from their bank accounts.
ACC officials said they primarily found the assets of Faisal and his family members, but more assets might be found during further inquiry against the NBR official.
The incidents of illegal wealth amassing by former and serving government officials have come to light one after another in recent times.
The ACC is conducting an inquiry against former inspector general of police Benazir Ahmed, and it has already found a huge amount of movable and immobile assets belonging to Benazir and his family members.
Amid allegations of graft, Benazir and his family left the country.
Apart from this, several top former and serving police officials are also facing allegations of amassing illegal wealth, including former Dhaka metropolitan police commissioner Md Asaduzzaman Mia.
New Age
