The court has ordered the freezing of 20 bank accounts belonging to former state minister for Power and Energy, Nasrul Hamid, and his wife, Seema Hamid, amounting to Tk12,77,86,699.
On Wednesday, Senior Special Judge of the Dhaka Metropolitan Court, Zakir Hossain Galib, issued the order in response to an application by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
According to the application, Nasrul Hamid and Seema Hamid, in collusion, acquired assets worth Tk6,98,54,964, which are inconsistent with their known sources of income. They have retained and deposited Tk12,77,86,699 in 20 bank accounts in their names and conducted suspicious or unusual transactions amounting to Tk11,18,49,818, thereby concealing or disguising the source of these funds, which constitutes a punishable offense under the Anti-Corruption Act.
During the investigation, it was revealed that following the ACC case, the accused attempted to withdraw money from their bank accounts, as confirmed by various sources. If no action is taken regarding these illicitly acquired assets, there is a risk of them being misappropriated.
Furthermore, under Section 17 of the Anti-Money Laundering Prevention Act, confiscation of these assets in favor of the state will not be possible, leading to a loss for the state. Therefore, in accordance with Section 14 of the Money Laundering Act, it is necessary to freeze these movable assets to prevent their withdrawal, transfer, or change of ownership.
