UNB, Dhaka :
The Anti Corruption Commission is set to send mutual legal assistance requests (MLARs) to Malaysia and the United Kingdom seeking information about the money siphoned off by former judge Motahar Hossain who acquitted Khaleda Zia’s eldest son Tarique Rahman in a money-laundering case a year ago.
“The Commission has already approved a proposal for sending the MLARs to Malaysia and the UK through the Office of Attorney General. We’ve prepared the MLARs and will send those to the Attorney General’s office soon for forwarding to the relevant offices of the two countries,” National Risk Assessment Cell (NRA) Coordinator M Fanafillah told UNB on Monday.
On November 17, 2013, Motahar Hossain, former special judge of Dhaka Metropolitan
Session Judge Court, dropped the charges against Tarique of laundering Tk 20.41 crore to Singapore. In the same case, he sentenced Tarique’s friend and business partner Giasuddin Al Mamun to seven years in prison and fined him Tk 40 crore.
While serving as the judge of Speedy Trial Tribunal-4, Motahar also dropped charges against five accused, including Bashundhara Group’s chairman Ahmed Sobhan Shah Alam’s son in Sabbir murder case in 2011. Sabbir was murdered in July 2006.
There were allegations that before going on retirement on December 30, 2013, Motahar Hossain acquitted a number of accused in sensational cases taking huge amount of money in bribe and later he siphoned off the money abroad.
In the light of graft allegations surfaced against the former judge, the national anti-graft body initiated a probe into the alleged graft of the judge on January 20, 2014. And the ACC immediately sent letters to the special branch of the Additional IGP and immigration authorities asking them to take steps so that Motahar cannot leave the country.
After scrutinising his travel documents, the ACC made sure that Motahar left Bangladesh for Malaysia on January 8, prior to the ACC’s letters to the authorities concerned asking them to impose a restriction on travel of the judge, official sources said.
ACC deputy director and inquiry officer Harun-ur-Rashid said the ACC is also trying to collect information about the alleged money laundering by the former judge through the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and Bangladesh Bank. He declined to comment further on the issue.
The Anti Corruption Commission is set to send mutual legal assistance requests (MLARs) to Malaysia and the United Kingdom seeking information about the money siphoned off by former judge Motahar Hossain who acquitted Khaleda Zia’s eldest son Tarique Rahman in a money-laundering case a year ago.
“The Commission has already approved a proposal for sending the MLARs to Malaysia and the UK through the Office of Attorney General. We’ve prepared the MLARs and will send those to the Attorney General’s office soon for forwarding to the relevant offices of the two countries,” National Risk Assessment Cell (NRA) Coordinator M Fanafillah told UNB on Monday.
On November 17, 2013, Motahar Hossain, former special judge of Dhaka Metropolitan
Session Judge Court, dropped the charges against Tarique of laundering Tk 20.41 crore to Singapore. In the same case, he sentenced Tarique’s friend and business partner Giasuddin Al Mamun to seven years in prison and fined him Tk 40 crore.
While serving as the judge of Speedy Trial Tribunal-4, Motahar also dropped charges against five accused, including Bashundhara Group’s chairman Ahmed Sobhan Shah Alam’s son in Sabbir murder case in 2011. Sabbir was murdered in July 2006.
There were allegations that before going on retirement on December 30, 2013, Motahar Hossain acquitted a number of accused in sensational cases taking huge amount of money in bribe and later he siphoned off the money abroad.
In the light of graft allegations surfaced against the former judge, the national anti-graft body initiated a probe into the alleged graft of the judge on January 20, 2014. And the ACC immediately sent letters to the special branch of the Additional IGP and immigration authorities asking them to take steps so that Motahar cannot leave the country.
After scrutinising his travel documents, the ACC made sure that Motahar left Bangladesh for Malaysia on January 8, prior to the ACC’s letters to the authorities concerned asking them to impose a restriction on travel of the judge, official sources said.
ACC deputy director and inquiry officer Harun-ur-Rashid said the ACC is also trying to collect information about the alleged money laundering by the former judge through the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and Bangladesh Bank. He declined to comment further on the issue.
