A court has ordered the freezing of Tk19.47 crore held in 83 bank accounts belonging to former Special Branch (SB) chief and former Additional Inspector General of Police Md Monirul Islam and three of his family members.
Acting Judge Ayesha Akhtar Mousumi of the Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s Court passed the order on Thursday following an application by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
ACC Public Relations Officer Tanzir Ahmed confirmed the matter.
The other individuals whose accounts were ordered frozen are Monirul’s wife, Shaila Farzana, a former additional secretary at the Ministry of Public Administration; his brother-in-law Rezaul Alam Shaheen; and Shaheen’s wife, Sanjida Khanam Tumpa.
ACC Deputy Director Mozammil Hossain, who leads the inquiry team, filed the application seeking the order.
According to the application, Monirul holds Tk78.61 lakh and £3,978 in 11 bank accounts, while Shaila has Tk8.03 lakh in five accounts. Shaheen holds Tk10.60 crore in 40 accounts, and Tumpa has Tk8.23 crore in 27 accounts.
The application alleged that the four individuals colluded to misappropriate Tk25 crore, embezzled funds after taking control of two NGOs Kuwait Society for Relief and Sharjah Charity International by branding them as linked to militancy, and amassed illegal wealth through corruption, irregularities and abuse of power.
The ACC said its preliminary inquiry had uncovered evidence suggesting that Monirul and his family members had acquired and possessed illicit assets in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country.
Records collected during the inquiry revealed numerous bank accounts in their names. The application further alleged that they were attempting to withdraw the funds and transfer them abroad.
The ACC argued that transferring or disposing of the assets could cause significant losses to the state, making it necessary to freeze the accounts to prevent the suspected proceeds of corruption from being moved.
