A Dhaka court has ordered the seizure of homes and land owned by five members of the family of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Jakir Hossain Galib issued the order on Wednesday, following a petition filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Among the seized assets is a house worth Tk4.98 crore in the capital’s Baridhara area, owned by Saima Wazed Putul. In Digholia, Khulna, 87.70 decimals of land worth Tk61.87 lakh are registered under the names of Sheikh Rehana, Saima Wazed Putul and Sajeeb Wazed Joy.
An additional 87.70 decimals of land in the same area, worth Tk41.24 lakh, are in the names of Rehana’s children, Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby and Azmina Siddiq Rupanti. Another plot of 19 decimals in Tungipara, Gopalganj, worth Tk20.50 lakh, is registered in Rehana’s name.
The information was confirmed by ACC spokesperson Akterul Islam.
On the same day, ACC Deputy Director Monirul Islam submitted the application seeking the seizure.
According to the petition, Saima Wazed Putul was attempting to transfer, relocate or otherwise dispose of immovable assets. If the assets are transferred before the investigation is complete, there is a possibility of compromising the inquiry.
To ensure a proper investigation, it was deemed necessary to prevent any change in ownership or any other form of transfer of the immovable assets until the probe is concluded.
Earlier, on Tuesday, the same court ordered the seizure of a flat in Gulshan worth Tk57 lakh owned by Putul. On March 11, the court ordered the seizure of Sudha Sadan, the residence in Dhanmondi registered under the names of Joy and Putul.
The court also ordered the seizure of homes and eight flats registered under the names of Sheikh Rehana, Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby and Tulip Rizwana Siddiq. The market value of these properties is estimated at Tk8.52 crore.
In addition, 124 bank accounts held by Sheikh Hasina and her associates were frozen.
Before that, on March 4, the court ordered the freezing of 14 bank accounts belonging to Saima Wazed Putul’s organisation, Shuchona Foundation.
On March 18, the court ordered the freezing of 31 bank accounts owned by Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, her daughter Saima Wazed Putul, and their associates. These accounts held Tk394.60 crore.
On April 9, the court ordered the freezing of additional bank accounts holding Tk16.12 crore in the names of Hasina, Rehana, Joy, Putul and their associates.
