BNP Joint Secretary General Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee has been acquitted in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over the concealing of information about assets worth Tk13.13 lakh.
Judge Jakaria Hossain of Dhaka’s Special Judge Court-6 delivered the verdict on Wednesday.
The judgment was announced in Anee’s presence.
His lawyers, Mohi Uddin Chowdhury, Jamal Hossain, Tanzim Chowdhury, and Khairul Islam Liton were also present.
Earlier, on July 16, following the presentation of closing arguments, the court set Wednesday for the verdict.
The case was filed on October 9, 2014 at Ramna police station in the capital by ACC Deputy Director Md Manjur Morshed.
According to the case, Anee concealed information about assets worth Tk1,313,940 in the statement he submitted to the ACC.
Additionally, during its investigation, the ACC found evidence that he had acquired illegal wealth amounting to Tk1,40,42,670 beyond known sources of income.
The case details state that he concealed Tk3,13,940 paid as land registration fees and Tk10 lakh as a donation made in his name to a school in Kushkhali, Lakshmipur, amounting to a total of Tk13,13,940.
Concealing such information is a punishable offence under the ACC Act.
Regarding the illegal wealth, it was found, based on the information provided by Anee, that he had acquired moveable, immovable, and undeclared assets totalling Tk37,535,266.
Among these, he showed liabilities of Tk50 lakh. Therefore, his net assets stood at Tk32,534,257.
However, in the asset statement submitted to the ACC on June 30, 2013, he had declared assets worth only Tk17,691,587.
This discrepancy led the ACC to file the case.
Subsequently, on May 24, 2016, the Dhaka Special Judge Court formally framed charges against Annie.