The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has launched an investigation into allegations that Transcom Group CEO Simeen Rahman paid a Tk100 crore bribe to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
A deputy director of the ACC was assigned as the investigation officer in the first week of November, a commission official confirmed, reports bdnews24.
According to the ACC, the Transcom CEO allegedly paid the money to the former prime minister — who was sentenced last week in a separate corruption case — to have several cases of “murder, share fraud and cheating” quashed.
A senior ACC official said the commission is examining the involvement of individuals and institutions linked to the allegation. The ACC appointed Deputy Director AKM Mahbubur Rahman as the investigation officer on November 5.
Mahbubur Rahman told bdnews24.com that the investigation is underway. The commission’s director (Investigation-2) is supervising the probe.
An ACC letter stated that the commission had earlier decided to initiate the inquiry. The investigation officer has been instructed to submit a report in due time and to notify the Investigation-2 wing if any bank accounts need to be frozen or assets seized.
bdnews24.com could not obtain a comment from Simeen Rahman regarding the allegations.
Sheikh Hasina was convicted last week in three ACC cases concerning the unlawful allocation of plots in Purbachal and sentenced to 21 years in prison. She and members of her family are facing multiple ACC investigations into allegations of abuse of power, corruption, money laundering, and illicit collections. At least 15 cases have been filed so far, three of which saw convictions on Thursday.
Separately, the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Sheikh Hasina to death on November 17 for crimes against humanity related to the July uprising.
Transcom CEO Simeen Rahman, meanwhile, is accused in another case filed by her younger sister, Shazreh Haque, over the death of their brother, Arshad Waliur Rahman.
Shazreh filed the case at Gulshan Police Station on March 21, 2024, accusing Simeen, her son and Transcom’s Head of Transformation Zarif Ayat Hossain, and others. The case concerns Arshad’s death on June 16, 2023, when he was found unresponsive in his bedroom and later declared dead at a hospital. The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) is probing the matter.
On March 31, 2024, the High Court ordered Simeen and three others to surrender within 72 hours of returning to the country.
Shazreh also filed three other cases alleging embezzlement, illegal share transfers and property grabbing involving eight people, including her mother, sister and nephew. Five Transcom officials were arrested in those cases. The PBI seized several documents from Transcom’s Gulshan headquarters during the investigation.
Transcom founder Latifur Rahman died on July 1, 2020. His wife, Shahnaz Rahman, became chairperson a month later, while their eldest daughter, Simeen, took over as CEO. Their younger daughter, Shazreh, is also a director of the group. The family has since been embroiled in a legal and corporate dispute.
No statement was available from Transcom’s media, legal or public relations departments, or the company secretary regarding the ACC’s new bribery investigation.
