Play store
A Dhaka court has accepted a charge sheet against former law minister Anisul Huq in a corruption case involving allegations of acquiring Tk172.24 crore in assets beyond his known sources of income.
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Shahjahan Kabir accepted the charge sheet on Sunday (October 25), Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Public Prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam confirmed.
Anisul Huq, who is currently in jail, was produced before the court during the proceedings.
The court also issued arrest warrants against the three other accused after they failed to appear. They are Jebunnesa Begum Huq, the wife of Anisul Huq’s younger brother; his nephew, Sheikh Md Iftekharul Islam; and Mohammad Iqbal, who is described as his cousin.
ACC Deputy Director Md Jahangir Alam submitted the charge sheet on September 24 this year.
The ACC filed the case against the four accused on January 1, 2025, following an investigation into Anisul Huq’s assets and financial transactions.
According to the ACC investigation, Anisul Huq allegedly accumulated assets worth Tk180.85 crore in his own name and under benami ownership. After deducting family expenses, his legitimate and acceptable income was found to be Tk8.61 crore, leaving Tk172.24 crore in assets inconsistent with his known sources of income.
The investigation also uncovered suspicious and unusual transactions worth Tk737.24 crore across 23 bank accounts linked to Anisul Huq and individuals associated with his interests.
The ACC identified assets worth Tk96.80 crore in Anisul Huq’s name and an additional Tk84.05 crore in the names of three people linked to him.
According to the charge sheet, Jebunnesa Begum Huq held movable assets worth Tk23.32 crore, Sheikh Md Iftekharul Islam held assets worth Tk20.71 crore, and Mohammad Iqbal held assets worth Tk40.01 crore.
The ACC further alleged that Jebunnesa held shares worth Tk10 crore and fixed deposit receipts (FDRs) worth Tk13 crore at Citizens Bank. Iftekharul Islam allegedly held shares worth more than Tk20 crore in the same bank, while Iqbal held shares worth more than Tk40 crore.
The investigation found that Tk375.50 crore had been deposited into the 23 bank accounts and Tk361.73 crore withdrawn. The total value of suspicious transactions was estimated at Tk737.24 crore, according to the ACC.
The four accused have been charged under Section 27(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004; Section 109 of the Penal Code; Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947; and Sections 4(2) and 4(3) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012.