The former state minister for housing and public works Abdul Mannan Khan has failed to appear before the Anti-Corruption Commission to explain alleged discrepancies in his wealth statement due to “illness.”
Confirming the matter, ACC commissioner M Shahabuddin Chuppu said: “Abdul Mannan could not appear due to his illness. We will summon him later at a convenient time as Mannan pleaded for time.”
On February 16, the commission summoned Abdul Mannan Khan as part of its inquiry tracing the reasons behind the astronomical rise in the AL leader's wealth over the past five years. On January 22, the ACC assigned a deputy director, M Nasir Uddin, to investigate allegations against Abdul Mannan Khan that he illegally acquired wealth and property.
Earlier last week, the commission had sought information from several government and private offices regarding the accumulated wealth of the former state minister. The commission served notices to seven organisations, including Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (RAJUK), Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), and Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB), asking them to provide information on the assets and properties of the Awami League leader. According to commission notices, seven organisations were asked to provide documents regarding the assets and finances of Khan and his family members.
REHAB was asked to provide documents on flats and houses owned by the Khan family, DSE was asked to provide documentation on shares, BRTA was asked to provide lists of the Khans’ vehicles, Dhaka Zilla Sub Registrar Office was requested to provide documents for plots owned by the family, Bangladesh Post Office was asked for documentation on their saving certificates, while RAJUK and DCC were asked to provide documents for residential buildings, plots and businesses belonging to Abdul Mannan Khan. After the Election Commission published the wealth statements of candidates last month ahead of the 10th parliamentary polls, media reports highlighted the large discrepancies between the information they had provided, and information provided for the 9th general elections in 2008. Following news reports on the huge increase in the fortunes of several prominent Awami League leaders and their family members over the past five years, the ACC began collecting newspaper clippings and analysing relevant content. Mannan Khan and his wife's wealth grew by 110 times during that period, from Tk10 lakh in 2008 to Tk11 crore in 2014, according to the affidavit of the AL leader submitted before the Election