The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Sunday sued Shipping Department’s former chief engineer and Ship Surveyor SM Nazmul Haque and his wife Sahela Nazmul on charges of acquisition, possession and smuggling of assets outside of disclosed income.
The commission filed the case with its Integrated District Office Dhaka-1 under different sections and clauses of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2004, the Penal Code, and the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012, said a press release from the anti-graft watchdog.
In the case, ACC named Sahela as the first accused and Nazmul as the second.
Nazmul has shown investment in various bank accounts, business establishments and joint ventures held in the name of his wife to conceal or disguise the illegal nature, source, location, ownership and control of proceeds of crime through bribery and corruption, it said.
It added that Sahela committed a punishable offence by concealing Tk 2,16,61,250 in the wealth statement and the information of movable and immovable assets worth Tk 2,64,71,131 and acquiring assets beyond the known income of value and possessing them.
ACC said it found such irregularities during the assessment of the duo’s asset and wealth statements.
In the asset statement filed by Sahela on April 17, 2019, she declared the acquisition of immovable assets worth Tk 1,10,25,000 and movable assets worth Tk 80,22,253.
However, an ACC inquiry found she owned immovable assets worth Tk 1,56,46,250 and movable assets worth Tk 2,50,62,253.
Meanwhile, she mentioned Tk 70,00,000 from her husband in the liability portion of the asset statement and Tk 43,25,000 against purchasing clothes in due payment.
However, ACC did not find any proof regarding documentary records such as the mode of payment through which money was received or spent.
Besides, verification of the asset statement also found evidence of the acquisition of movable and immovable assets worth Tk 4,07,08,503 in Sahela’s name.
ACC found that during the relevant period, Sahela spent Tk 38,96,562 as per income tax records. She also acquired assets worth Tk 1,81,33,934.
As a result, Sahela possessed voluntarily Tk 2,64,71,131 worth of assets in total other than known income, it said.
In 2014, the ACC started an inquiry into various corruptions and irregularities involving Nazmul.
On April 12 last year, ACC arrested Nazmul while he was taking a Tk 5 lakh bribe for approving a ship's design. A case was filed against him at Shahbagh Police Station the same day.
Subsequently, on August 13 last year, Nazmul secured bail from a Dhaka court in the case and was released from jail.
However, on January 15, the High Court cancelled the lower court's bail after hearing a petition filed by ACC against the bail order.
Three days later, another Dhaka court sent Nazmul to jail after he surrendered before it in the bribery case.
