A Dhaka court on Tuesday deferred the hearing on framing charges against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s former adviser Salman F Rahman and former law minister Anisul Huq in a case filed under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, setting June 21 for the next hearing.
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Sabbir Faiz rescheduled the hearing after defense lawyers sought more time, court bench assistant Riaz Hossain confirmed.
Tuesday had been fixed for the charge hearing, and both Salman and Anisul were produced before the court.
Salman’s lawyer, Sajibul Islam, told the court he had been unable to prepare a petition seeking discharge after collecting the necessary case documents and information.
Anisul’s lawyer, Suman Hossain, said his senior counsel had suddenly fallen ill and was unable to attend the hearing, prompting the request for more time.
According to case documents, police on August 13, 2024, acted on a tip-off that suspects in a murder case filed with New Market Police Station were illegally storing foreign currency near Sadarghat-2 Mosque in Dhaka.
Police later conducted a raid in the area and detained them.
Authorities said they seized $17,592 and 726 Singapore dollars from Anisul.
From Salman, police recovered $12,624, 620 Swiss francs, 8,500 dirhams, 1.3 million Uzbekistani som, 11,650 Saudi riyals, 779 Singapore dollars, 150 pounds, 1,321 euros, 6,230 Bhutanese ngultrum, 3,320 Thai baht and Tk50,000.
On September 13, 2024, Sub-Inspector Md Sajib Mia of New Market Police Station filed the case at Kotwali Police Station under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act.
After completing the investigation, Sub-Inspector Nuruzzaman of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Kotwali Police Station submitted the charge sheet to the court on November 30.
The charge sheet alleged that the two men kept foreign currency in their possession for business purposes without proper authorization and failed to produce valid documents for the funds.
Salman and Anisul are currently in jail.
