The Anti-Corruption Commission sued former Health and Family Planning Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain yesterday for laundering about Tk9.54 crore through the United Kingdom.
ACC Director Nasim Anwar filed the case against Mosharraf, also a standing committee member of the BNP, with Ramna model police station.
The case was filed under several sections of Money Laundering Prevention Act 2002, 2009 and 2012 respectively, police Duty Officer Rafat Ara Sultana confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune.
According to the case statement, the former minister has earned British currency valued at roughly 8.04 lakh (BDT 9,53,95,381), by abusing his power between 2001 and 2006.
He also concealed information and deposited the money in a fixed term deposit account at Lloyds TSB Offshore Private Banking in Guernsey, UK. The joint account belongs to the former minister and his wife Bilkis Akhter Hossain, it reads. The commission, after analysing different documents including “package of evidence” given by British government through Mutual Legal Assistance Request (MLAR), information from foreign exchange department of Bangladesh Bank and income tax return statements of the ex-minister and his wife, found that Mosharraf acquired many properties in UK during his power in between 2001 to 2006, including the deposit at the bank account, the FIR reads.
The money deposited in the account was collected through money laundering and is now in a frozen situation, a report prepared by financial investigation unit of Bailiwick of Guernsey revealed, the case statement added.
Sending money abroad without informing the central bank is an offense under Foreign Exchange Regulation Act 1947, it reads.
Earlier on January 10, 2008, the ACC filed a case with Ramna Police Station against former Minister Mosharraf on charges of amassing illegal wealth and concealing information about assets while submitting the wealth statement before the commission.
The ACC also found that the minister and his wife Bilkis Akhter Hossain had concealed information about the bank account with their income tax return statements.
The commission will also investigate if any other people, including the former minister’s wife Bilkis Akhter Hossain, have any sort of involvement in the irregularity, the FIR said.
