The Anti-Corruption Commission on Thursday decided to initiate an investigation against former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan and several of his associates for bribery and money laundering.
Asaduzzaman stands accused of amassing enormous amounts of bribe money during his tenure as home minister.
The bribes, reportedly collected in sacks full of cash, were allegedly sourced from various government departments and agencies, including the police, the Department of Narcotics Control, and the fire service.
The syndicate responsible for orchestrating this scheme was reportedly led by his former private secretary Md Harun-Or-Rashid Biswas, with other key members being Public Security Division Deputy Secretary Dhananjoy Kumar Das, Security Services Division Administrative Officer Mollah Ibrahim Hossain, Personal Officer Monir Hossain and Home Ministry Public Relations Officer Sharif Mahmud Apu.
Harun allegedly played a pivotal role in collecting and managing the funds, with the syndicate reportedly siphoning off thousands of crores.
Even after Harun retired, he allegedly continued to control the corruption and bribery operations within the ministry.
To avoid detection, a significant portion of the money was reportedly transferred abroad.
Without the syndicate's approval, no police officer could be appointed to a district or any significant position.
Appointment as an SP reportedly required a bribe ranging from Tk1 crore to Tk3 crore.
On June 30, 2022, Deputy Inspector General Molla Nazrul Islam was appointed commissioner of the Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP), with the syndicate allegedly ensuring this appointment in exchange for Tk5 crore.
A month before the appointment, Nazrul is said to have handed a check for Tk5 crore to Harun, followed by a payment of Tk2 crore in cash after his appointment as commissioner.
Nazrul also replaced the initial check with a new one for Tk3 crore.
The cash was allegedly delivered in sacks to Asaduzzaman’s residence in Farmgate, Dhaka.
The former minister’s son, Shafi Moddasser Khan Jyoti, reportedly failed in an attempt to have a police officer transferred, leading Asaduzzaman to direct him to contact Harun.
This issue allegedly led to a significant altercation at their home in June, during which Jyoti reportedly caused extensive damage to the property.
Furthermore, NGOs seeking no objection certificates (NOC) were allegedly required to pay between Tk80 lakh and Tk1 crore to the former minister's office.
In one instance, in 2018, a development organization in Uttara, Dhaka, faced delays in obtaining an NOC despite favourable reports from the police, district administration and National Security Intelligence.
Ultimately, just before the December 2018 election, the organization was forced to pay Tk85 lakh to the minister.
The payment was reportedly made to a family member near his Farmgate residence.
In another incident involving the Fire Service and Civil Defence, whenever there was a job circular, the minister’s office allegedly sent a list of names to be appointed.
The fire service was reportedly compelled to follow these directives, with appointments requiring a bribe of Tk8 lakh to Tk12 lakh per person.
On October 2, 2023, the fire service appointed 535 individuals, including 436 male firefighters, 15 female firefighters and 84 drivers, following a list provided by the former minister’s office.
In light of these allegations, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) formed an investigation team led by Deputy Director Md Jahangir Alam to look into the matter.