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A Dhaka court on Monday formally began the trial of former National Board of Revenue (NBR) official Motiur Rahman, who came under public scrutiny over the widely discussed “goat controversy,” after framing charges in a corruption case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The case accuses Motiur of amassing Tk 54.1 million (Tk 5.41 crore) in assets beyond his known sources of income and concealing information about his wealth.
Judge B.M. Tarikul Kabir of the Dhaka Divisional Special Judge’s Court framed the charges and fixed September 14 for the recording of witness testimonies, ACC prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam said.
During Monday’s hearing, Motiur was produced before the court and the charges were read out to him. He pleaded not guilty and sought justice. The court subsequently framed the charges and ordered the trial to proceed.
Following the hearing, defence lawyers Anwar Zahid Bhuiyan and Md. Borhan Uddin sought bail for Motiur, while ACC prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam opposed the plea. The court rejected the bail application.
Earlier, on July 5, the ACC sought formal charges against Motiur. After hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defence, the court had initially set July 21 for its order, which was later deferred to Monday.
The ACC filed the case on December 15, 2024, accusing Motiur of acquiring Tk 52.88 million in unexplained wealth and concealing information about assets worth Tk 12.77 million.
Following its investigation, the ACC approved the charge sheet on February 3, alleging that Motiur had submitted false and misleading information in his wealth statement, hiding assets worth Tk 12.43 million.
According to the charge sheet, the former tax official abused his position, accepted bribes and engaged in corrupt practices to accumulate illicit assets worth Tk 54.1 million in his own name.
He has been charged under Sections 26(2) and 27(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, along with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.
Motiur was arrested by the Detective Branch (DB) police on January 14, 2025, and has remained in custody since then.
The controversy surrounding Motiur emerged during Eid-ul-Azha 2024, when a Facebook post about a young man named Ifat purchasing a goat worth Tk 1.5 million from Sadiq Agro went viral.
It was later revealed that Ifat was Motiur’s son, prompting widespread public attention and leading the ACC to launch an investigation into the former revenue official’s alleged corruption.