Md Mahabub Alam :The Finance Ministry has not yet returned Tk 19 crore, proceed amount of Koko’s laundered taka to Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), despite submission of its work plan as per condition set by the ministry.The amount was transferred to the bank account of the Finance Ministry in October 2013.The anti-graft body brought back Tk 21,055,394 in total from Oversees Bank of Singapore in 2013. Arafat Rahman Koko, youngest son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, laundered the amount to Singapore on different dates.The ACC took initiative to bring back the money through legal process. At the end of trial, a Singaporean Court ordered the Oversees Bank to return the money to Bangladesh on condition that the money could be used for launching anti-corruption drives. The ACC deposited the amount in the account of the Finance Ministry as per order of the ministry in October 2013. The ministry said that it would return the amount as soon as the ACC submitted its work plan for anti-corruption drive. The ministry paid Tk 2.50 crore to the commission so far. From it, ACC paid Tk 2.10 crore to Auckto Khan Consultancy as consultancy fees.An officer of the ACC whishing anonymity, told The New Nation that the commission submitted a work plan as per the demand of ministry long ago but the ministry was not returning the money, which has created problems for ACC to implement the plan.When contacted yesterday, ACC Chairman M Badiuzzaman told The New Nation that ACC submitted a work plan on logistic and infrastructure developments to the ministry as per its demand, but the ministry was creating complexities to pay the money showing different causes. “We have requested the ministry again and again to return the money but in vain. I have heard that the ministry is now killing time only. However, the money will have to be paid sooner or later as it belongs to ACC”, he said. On March 18, 2009, the anti-graft body sued Koko and one Ismail Hossian alias Simon, for siphoning off the money he had illegally taken from a Chinese company and Siemens and other sources as kickbacks to help them get government contracts.He was arrested on September 2, 2007 along with her mother from their cantonment residence. He left the country for Bangkok for treatment on July 19, 2010 on parole.In 2011, a Dhaka court convicted Koko for money laundering and sentenced him to six years in prison and fined Tk 380 million. The Singapore authorities, the US intelligence agency – the Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI) – and the Attorney General of Bangladesh worked together to recover the stolen money.The ACC for the first time investigated the case of overseas money laundering and corruption with the help of Singapore authorities, following a mutual legal assistance request (MLAR) under the UN Convention against corruption.
