An official from the Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday arrived in Cox’s Bazar to collect documents and information related to the inquiry against Awami League lawmaker from Cox’s Bazar 4 constituency Abdur Rahman Bodi.
Ahsan Ali, an ACC deputy director and probe officer of the inquiry, will visit administrative offices to collect documents related to the MP’s wealth, as well as information from internal sources, an official of the commission told the Dhaka Tribune.
The ACC on January 22 initiated an inquiry against seven ruling party lawmakers, including two former ministers, a state minister and four MPs, in a bid to trace the sources of their phenomenal rise in wealth.
After the Election Commission published the wealth statements submitted by candidates last month ahead of the 10th parliamentary polls, the media reported large discrepancies between the information they had provided and their previous submissions for the ninth general election in 2008.
Following news reports of huge increases in the fortunes of several prominent Awami League men and their family members over the past five years, the ACC started collecting newspaper clippings and analysing the relevant documents, ACC officials said.
Cox’s Bazar MP Bodi’s earnings rose astronomically, increasing by more than 500 times over the past five years. The lawmaker and his wife’s annual income was only Tk3.01 lakh in 2008, but rose to Tk15.46 crore in 2013, according to his affidavits placed at the EC.
His annual income from house rent – which was Tk1.76 lakh in 2008 – increased 118 times to become Tk2.08 crore in 2013. Although he had no business investments in 2008, the lawmaker now earned Tk53 lakh from businesses. From shares and bank interests, Abdur Rahman used to earn less than a lakh taka in 2008, but made over Tk8 crore in 2013.