The Anti-Corruption Commission began an enquiry into the “illegal” wealth of retired Special Judge Motahar Hossain, who had acquitted BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman from a money laundering case.
“The commission launched the probe following an allegation, scrutinised by three-member ACC team, that found evidences of irregularity,” ACC Commissioner M Shahabuddin told reporters yesterday.
The investigation team requested the commissioner concerned to approve the enquiry against the judge.
The allegations brought against him are laundering money, amassing illegal wealth beyond known sources of income and abuse of his judicial power, the commissioner said.
ACC sources said the commission had already appointed its Deputy Director Harun-ur-Rashid as investigation officer to probe the matter. It also imposed a bar on the foreign trip of the former judge.
Motahar bought a house in London where his son is studying. He also bought two apartments in Dhanmondi and he owns a lot of land in his village Natore.
In response to another query, the commissioner said the ACC is a prosecution organisation and it had appealed to the court after the acquittal of Tarique Rahman in the money laundering case in which his friend was found guilty.
“Following ACC’s appeal, the court directed him [Tarique] to surrender before the court. It is on him now whether he would follow the directive of the High Court,” he said.
The HC asked BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman to surrender before it in the money laundering caseon Sunday. The court accepted the petition lodged by the ACC that appealed against the lower court verdict that acquitted Tarique Rahman in the aforementioned money laundering case.
When contacted, Commission Chairman M Bodiuzzaman told the Dhaka Tribune that they had heard about the allegation against the judge earlier and therefore decided to an enquiry into the allegation.
Replying to a query, he said the appeal had nothing to do with any political connection. The ACC appealed to the court as the ACC could not see why Giasuddin Mamun was found guilty in the same case where Tarique was acquitted.
“Now it is the matter of the court,” he said.
