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DHAKA: A court has ordered the seizure of income tax records of Suchana Foundation, led by Saima Wazed, and former Barguna-1 lawmaker Dhirendra Debnath Shambhu as part of investigations into allegations of money laundering and corruption.
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Mohammad Shahjahan Kabir passed the orders on Thursday following separate applications filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
ACC lawyer Mir Ahmed Ali Salam told Prothom Alo that two commission officials filed separate applications on Wednesday and the court issued its orders on Thursday.
ACC Assistant Director Afnan Jannat Keya filed an application on Wednesday seeking the seizure of Suchana Foundation’s tax records.
The application alleged that the foundation had evaded Tk 99.04 lakh in taxes for the 2015-16 to 2024-25 tax years by preparing false tax payment documents through fraud and forgery. It further alleged that the money was misappropriated by showing the amounts as income tax expenses in audit reports based on those documents.
According to the allegations in the ACC case, Tk 5,317.7 crore was deposited into 14 bank accounts held in the foundation’s name, while Tk 4,653 crore was withdrawn. The commission described these transactions as suspicious.
The application said the foundation’s permanent and miscellaneous income tax records, along with all related documents from its establishment through the 2024-25 tax year, needed to be seized to ensure a proper investigation.
Earlier, on March 4, 2025, a court ordered the freezing of the foundation’s 14 bank accounts.
Meanwhile, ACC Deputy Assistant Director Khairul Hasan filed an application seeking the seizure of former lawmaker Dhirendra Debnath Shambhu’s income tax records.
The application said the ACC had filed cases against Shambhu under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2004, the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012 and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
It said investigators needed to verify his income and expenditure and determine whether he owned any other assets. The commission therefore sought permission to seize and examine his tax records.