Regent Hospital Chairman Mohammad Shahed Karim has been formally shown arrested in a money laundering case involving allegations of acquiring assets worth Tk7,187,265 beyond known sources of income.
Judge Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka Special Judge Court-5 on Monday passed the order following a petition filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
ACC lawyer Delwar Jahan Rumi confirmed the matter.
On the same day, Shahed’s lawyer Dabir Uddin sought bail, but the court did not hear the petition.
According to case records, ACC Deputy Director Md Farid Ahmed Patwary filed the first information report (FIR) on March 7, 2021.
Following an investigation, ACC Assistant Director and investigating officer Mohammad Ziyatul Islam submitted a charge sheet to the court on January 10, 2024, against Shahed and his wife, Sadia Arbi.
According to the charge sheet, Sadia Arbi declared movable and immovable assets worth Tk61.30 lakh in an asset statement submitted to the ACC on December 28, 2020.
However, the investigation found assets worth Tk7,623,625 in her name, indicating that she had concealed assets worth Tk1,493,625.
Including family expenses of Tk1.80 lakh, her total assets were valued at Tk7,823,625. Her income tax records, however, showed earned income of only Tk4.50 lakh.
The investigation therefore found Tk7,353,625 in movable and immovable assets beyond her declared income and outside her known sources of income, according to the charge sheet.
Investigators also found that Sadia had no reliable independent source of income. Shahed allegedly assisted her in acquiring the assets by transferring, converting and concealing funds obtained through illegal and corrupt means in her name.
The ACC subsequently sought to frame charges against the couple under Sections 26(2) and 27(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, Section 4(2) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012, and Section 109 of the Penal Code.
Shahed is also a convict in several cases involving forgery and fraud and faces warrants in cases involving arms possession and cheque dishonour, among others.
After serving a lengthy period in prison, he was recently arrested again under a complaint register (CR) warrant.
He was subsequently sent to jail under a warrant enforcing a one-year prison sentence and a fine for loan default and cheque dishonour in a case involving Mercantile Co-operative Bank.
Shahed remains in custody due to the sentences and warrants pending against him in various cases.