The Election Commission has sent the affidavits of five powerful politicians to the Anti-Corruption Commission in response to the latter’s request for investigation into the allegation of their illegal wealth accumulation.
The EC on Sunday sent the affidavits of five politicians they submitted before the 9th and 10th parliamentary elections. But, the affidavit of former health minister AFM Ruhal Haque was not sent as he appealed to the EC to correct his wealth statement, said an EC official on Sunday.
ACC Deputy Director Khairul Huda confirmed UNB that they received the copies of the affidavits on Sunday afternoon.
Earlier, on January 23, the ACC sent letters to the EC seeking the attested copies of affidavits of the politicians they submitted before the 2008 and the 2014 national elections for probing the allegations of unusual wealth accumulations by them.
The six politicians are former health minister AFM Ruhal Haque, former state minister for water resources Mahbubur Rahman and former state minister for housing and public works Abdul Mannan Khan, and ex-MPs Aslamul Haque of Dhaka-14, Abdur Rahman Bodi of Cox’s Bazar-4 and Abdul Jabbar of Satkhira-2.
Of them, Ruhal Haque, Mahbubur Raham, Aslamul Haque, Abdur Rahman Bodi are also now MPs.
As per the affidavits of candidates submitted to the EC for the last 10th parliamentary polls, the wealth of the 48 candidates have increased by 363 percent in the last five years while that of ministers by 247 percent; state ministers by 459 percent; and deputy leader of parliament, chief whip and whip by 1,689 percent; the Prime Minister by 46 percent and deputy speaker by 238 percent.
The anti-graft body has started investigation into their movable and immovable property in phases after media ran reports citing unusual increase in their assets according to the affidavits they submitted before the last two national elections.
Source: UNBConnect
