A Dhaka court on Wednesday showed dismissed former National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) director general Major General Ziaul Ahsan arrested in a corruption case over allegations of amassing wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Sabbir Faiz passed the order following a petition filed by the investigation officer in a case alleging the acquisition of assets worth Tk22.28 crore beyond known income sources.
Bench assistant Riaz Hossain confirmed the matter.
After the arrest order, the court allowed Ziaul Ahsan’s lawyers to speak with him at 12:10am. His counsels later met him at Dhaka Central Jail. His sister, Advocate Nazneen Nahar, was also present during the meeting.
Barrister Asifur Rahman, counsel for Ziaul Ahsan, said although a power of attorney was submitted on his behalf on the day, no bail application was filed.
Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government, Ziaul Ahsan was arrested from the capital’s Khilkhet area late at night on August 15, 2024. He has since been shown arrested in several other cases, including one filed with the International Crimes Tribunal.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case on January 23, with Deputy Director Md Salauddin naming Ziaul Ahsan and his wife, Nusrat Jahan, as accused. The charges include acquiring assets worth Tk22.28 crore inconsistent with known sources of income.
Earlier, on December 21, ACC Deputy Director and investigation officer Md Hafizul Islam sought the court’s permission to show Ziaul Ahsan, already in jail in multiple cases, arrested in the ACC case. The court fixed Wednesday for a hearing in the presence of the accused, during which he was produced before the court and subsequently sent to jail following the arrest order.
According to the case statement, the dismissed army officer allegedly amassed assets worth Tk22.28 crore in his own name beyond his declared income. He is also accused of depositing $55,000 in a bank account in violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Guidelines 2018 and FEPD Circular-6 of 2020.
The ACC further alleges that Ziaul Ahsan conducted unusual transactions amounting to about Tk120 crore through accounts in eight active banks and transferred, converted and laundered large sums of money through various individuals and institutions with the assistance of his wife.
By abusing his position and delegated authority as a senior army officer, he allegedly committed offences punishable under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, the Penal Code, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
