Awami League lawmaker from Rajshahi 4 Enamul Haque’s personal secretary has threatened an Anti-Corruption Commission investigator with death, asking him to not recommend legal action against the MP over accumulation of illegal wealth.
“Kanchan Das threatened to kill me over phone in the morning. He asked me to not recommend filing of any case against the lawmaker against whom an inquiry is under way,” ACC Deputy Director Jatan Kumer Roy told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
He filed a general diary with Ramna police in the afternoon seeking security.
The ACC official also claimed that the incumbent lawmaker’s men had been trying to convince him to not recommend legal action against him. Some days ago, they allegedly tried to kidnap him.
The GD reads that high-ups in the government are in the lawmaker’s favour. Now the lawmaker needs the investigation officer’s favour.
When contacted, Kanchan denied the allegation of threatening the ACC official.
Coming out of the ACC office after facing the investigator on September 8, Enamul claimed that the allegations against him were false. “I do not have any wealth beyond what is mentioned in the affidavit I submitted to the Election Commission. All of it is legal. The statement that I submitted with the Election Commission was authentic. I am sure about it and can challenge the allegations,” he told reporters.
The MP went to the ACC headquarters much earlier than the usual office time, apparently to avoid media.
However, ACC sources say the commission has already found that the lawmaker has accumulated huge amounts of wealth through illegal means.
Enamul’s annual income was Tk20 lakh from his salary and allowances in 2008, which in 2013 reached nearly Tk50 lakh from agriculture, rented properties and other businesses. His wife owned Tk8.34 crore in movable property in 2013, up from Tk2.89 crore in 2008, according to the affidavits.
Enamul is the owner of Ena Group, which has 10 sister concerns including a real estate company named Ena Properties Ltd. The realtor has finished at least 31 multi-storey building projects and is implementing another 17 projects in Dhaka and abroad.
The probe official would soon submit a report to the commission after adding the statements collected from Enamul.
“His PS called me to know about the update of the allegations against him. When I asked for some more documents regarding the allegations, he asked me to work in favour of the lawmaker and his wife, otherwise I will disappear,” Jatan Kumer said.
Quoting the lawmaker, Kanchan asked the ACC official not to mix up the lawmaker’s businesses with his personal issues.
Jatan said: “How I can separate his business firm when it is clearly mentioned in the audit report found from Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) that the preparation of the financial statement is the responsibility of the company’s management. It reveals that the incumbent lawmaker’s company earned Tk84 crore net profit but he paid only Tk87 lakh as tax. It is clearly tax evasion.”
Jatan said the investigation into the lawmaker’s wealth was almost complete and it would be submitted to the commission seeking further action. The ACC has found proof of accumulating illegal wealth worth Tk207 crore by the lawmaker and Tk49 crore by his wife Tahura Haque, reads the GD.
Kanchan told the Dhaka Tribune: “He [Jatan] wanted to understand the [Rajuk’s] audit report as he is not expert on financial documents. But at one stage, he got angry with me as I tried to make him understand that the assets of the company never belongs to the company’s directors assets.
“Then he was furious and told me that he knew better than me and that he was not afraid of anyone.”
The ACC initiated the inquiry on January 22 on charges of amassing illegal wealth. The probe was prompted by his wealth statement, submitted to the Election Commission before the January 5 election, which showed dramatic rise in his wealth.
