[🇧🇩] Everything about Hasina's misrule/Laundered Money etc.

Date of Event: Nov 11, 2024

Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/national/sheikh-hasina-was-a-classic-autocrat-m-sakhawat-hossain

Sheikh Hasina was a classic autocrat: M Sakhawat Hossain
Published :
Aug 05, 2024 22:03
Updated :
Aug 05, 2024 22:03

Sheikh Hasina was a classic autocrat who dismissed the people, and this disdain has led to her current predicament, according to Brigadier General (Retd) M. Sakhawat Hossain, an election analyst and former military officer. In a special interview with UNB news agency over the phone, he expressed these views.
He stated that today's events were inevitable and were bound to happen. "We have seen similar situations in Tunisia, Libya, and Syria. Popular uprisings are unstoppable. The student quota reform movement could have been resolved easily, but due to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's stubbornness, so many people lost their lives."

Hossain criticised the media's portrayal of the casualties, claiming that the true number is closer to 400, with a significant portion being students and young people. He questioned the whereabouts of the remaining bodies, mass graves, and the extent of innocent lives lost. "She has gone, but who will answer for this?" he asked.

He accused the ruling government of carrying out the "most heinous massacre" and of misleading the public by blaming criminals while those responsible were, in fact, their own countrymen. "Such things should not happen in a free country," he remarked.

Hossain also noted that for the past 15 years, people have been unable to vote properly, with widespread election fraud. He stated that Sheikh Hasina should have understood her and her party's unpopularity, and questioned who would be held accountable for the bloodshed. He criticized the severe lack of good governance, which he believes Sheikh Hasina failed to provide.

Furthermore, he alleged that Sheikh Hasina has created criminal gangs within the country and turned the police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) into her personal enforcers.

Reflecting on the plight of the family members of the so-called Father of the Nation, he questioned why they had to face such a tragic fate, attributing it to Hasina's arrogance and pride. He drew a parallel with the 2009 BDR mutiny, where 57 army officers were killed, and questioned who would answer for that incident as well.

He criticised Sheikh Hasina's control over TV media and her suppression of free speech, citing it as a reason he avoided talk shows. He claimed he had urged the Prime Minister in various meetings to ensure good governance, but was labelled as an 'agent of the opposition' for his criticisms.

"Today, Sheikh Hasina has fled the country, and now the army has had to take responsibility for the nation's situation," he concluded.​

 

[Saif]

Ex-minister javed: Court freezes his cement company’s bank account

A court in Chattogram has ordered to suspend the bank account of Aramit Cement Ltd, owned by former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed, in a case of defaulted loan of Tk 15 crore.

www.thedailystar.net

Ex-minister javed: Court freezes his cement company’s bank account

Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed

A court in Chattogram has ordered to suspend the bank account of Aramit Cement Ltd, owned by former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed, in a case of defaulted loan of Tk 15 crore.

Judge Mujahidur Rahman of the Chittagong Financial Debt Court issued the order yesterday afternoon, said the court's bench assistant Rezaul Karim.

Javed's wife Rukmila Zaman is the managing director of Aramit Cement, the company accused of defaulting on the loan.

Javed served as the state minister for land from 2014 to 2018 and as its minister from 2019 to 2023.

Before the 2024 parliamentary elections, he was accused of amassing huge wealth abroad. After that, he was not seen in the cabinet formed after the elections. Media reported that Javed moved to London with his wife and family members just before the fall of the Awami League government in the student-public movement on August 5 last year.

A review of the case documents revealed that when Javed was a minister, his family company Aramit Cement Ltd took a loan from Bank Asia.

After the company defaulted on the loan, seven people including Rukmila and Mohammad Masudul Islam, the first assistant vice president of Bank Asia, filed a case against Aramit Cement on November 11, 2023. However, Javed was not accused in the case.

On November 26 last year, Bank Asia informed the court that their total debt against the loan given to Aramit Cement stood at almost Tk 14.64 crore. The defendants do not have any property mortgage to the bank against this loan. Besides, the defendants left the country after the political changeover on August 5. They are accused of smuggling a huge amount of money abroad.

Bank Asia also asked the court to attach a bank account of Aramit Cement with the United Commercial Bank Ltd (UCBL), Bahaddarhat branch, for collecting the dues.

The court's bench assistant Rezaul Karim told The Daily Star, "After a hearing, the court ordered the suspension of all transactions of the company's UCBL bank account. At the same time, it issued the defendants a show-cause notice asking them to explain why all the accounts should not be attached."

"They will have to respond to the show-cause notice by January 20," he added.​

 

[Saif]

UK PM faces pressure to sack Tulip Siddiq

UK prime minister Keir Starmer faced fresh pressure Monday to sack his anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq, amid accusations over her family ties to Bangladesh’s toppled premier.

www.newagebd.net

UK PM faces pressure to sack Tulip Siddiq
Agence France-Presse . London 13 January, 2025, 21:17

Tulip Siddiq | BSS file photo

UK prime minister Keir Starmer faced fresh pressure Monday to sack his anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq, amid accusations over her family ties to Bangladesh’s toppled premier.

Siddiq has been dogged by claims about her links to her aunt Sheikh Hasina, who fled Bangladesh last August after a student-led uprising against her decades-spanning tenure as prime minister.

Earlier this month, the UK minister referred herself to Starmer’s standards adviser, following a flurry of allegations, including that she lived in properties linked to her aunt and the Awami League party Hasina led.

Siddiq has insisted that she has done nothing wrong.

Asked on Monday whether Siddiq’s position in the UK government remained tenable, senior British minister Pat McFadden told Sky News she had ‘done the right thing’ with the self-referral.

He insisted the standards adviser had the powers to ‘carry out investigations into allegations like this’.

‘That is what he is doing, and that is the right way to deal with this,’ McFadden said.

But UK opposition politicians want Siddiq fired.

‘I think it’s untenable for her to carry out her role,’ the Conservatives’ finance spokesman Mel Stride told Times Radio on Sunday.

‘It’s inappropriate for Tulip to be in the position that she holds at the moment. She is the anti-corruption minister in government,’ he said.

In December Siddiq emerged as a named target of a probe by Bangladesh’s anti-corruption commission into the alleged embezzlement by Hasina’s family of $5 billion connected to a Russian-funded nuclear power plant.

Money laundering investigators there have since ordered the country’s big banks to hand over details of transactions relating to Siddiq as part of the probe.

Siddiq is an MP for a north London seat who is part of the finance ministry and responsible for the UK’s financial services sector as well as anti-corruption measures.

Over the weekend, a Sunday Times investigation revealed details about the claims that Siddiq spent years living in a London flat bought by an offshore company connected to two Bangladeshi businessmen.

The flat was eventually transferred as a gift to a Bangladeshi barrister with links to Hasina, her family and her ousted government, according to the newspaper.

It also reported Siddiq and her family were given or used several other London properties bought by members or associates of the Awami League party.

Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Prize-winning microfinance pioneer who heads a caretaker government, demanded a detailed probe in light of the allegations.

He told the newspaper the properties could be linked to wider corruption claims against Hasina’s toppled government, which he said amounted to the ‘plain robbery’ of billions of dollars from Bangladesh’s coffers.​

 

[Saif]

Tulip resigns as UK minister

Tulip Siddiq, British treasury minister, resigned yesterday after repeated questions about her financial links to the ousted Bangladeshi government run by her aunt Sheikh Hasina.

www.thedailystar.net

Tulip resigns as UK minister
Starmer accepts, leaves door open for her return

Tulip Siddiq, British treasury minister, resigned yesterday after repeated questions about her financial links to the ousted Bangladeshi government run by her aunt Sheikh Hasina.

In a letter to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Tulip, 42, repeated she had done nothing wrong but said continuing in office would likely "be a distraction from the work of the government".

Tulip, whose ministerial role included tackling corruption in UK financial markets, said she had fully declared all her financial interests and relationships.

Earlier this month, she had referred herself to Laurie Magnus, Starmer's adviser on ministerial standards, after it emerged she had lived in multiple properties associated with people with links to Sheikh Hasina.

Tulip was not found to have broken any rules by Magnus, reports The Guardian.

Labour MP Emma Reynolds has been appointed the new Economic Secretary to the Treasury.

Hasina fled after being deposed as Bangladeshi PM on August 5.

Tulip was under pressure over her occupancy of the properties, including a two-bedroom flat near King's Cross in central London and a separate home in Hampstead.

Besides, Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission has launched multiple probes into the alleged corruption of Hasina and her family members, including Tulip.

Tulip is one of those named in the commission's investigation into accusations of embezzlement of $5 billion connected to a Russian-funded nuclear power plant in Bangladesh.

Bangladeshi money laundering investigators have since ordered the country's big banks to hand over details of transactions relating to Tulip as part of the probe.

In her letter of resignation, Tulip said her "family connections were a matter of public record" and that she had acted with "full transparency".

She insisted her "loyalty is and always will be" to the Labour government and the "programme of national renewal and transformation it has embarked upon".

"I have therefore decided to resign from my ministerial position."

Starmer thanked Tulip for her work and recognised that "no evidence of financial improprieties on your part" had been found.

In a letter accepting her resignation, Sir Keir said the "door remains open" for Tulip, a Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate.

Over the weekend, a Sunday Times investigation revealed details about the claims that she spent years living in a London flat bought by an offshore company connected to two Bangladeshi businessmen.

The flat was eventually transferred as a gift to a Bangladeshi lawyer with links to Hasina, her family and her ousted government, according to the newspaper.

It also reported Tulip and her family were given or used several other London properties bought by members or associates of the Awami League party.

Hours after Tulip's resignation, a statement from Bangladesh interim government's Chief Adviser's Press Wing said Dhaka is committed to bringing back stolen money from around the world.

As Professor Yunus told The Sunday Times of London, Tulip may not have entirely understood the source of the money and property that she was enjoying in London, but she knows now and should seek forgiveness from the people of Bangladesh, it said.​

 

[Saif]

Govt committed to bringing stolen money back: CA press wing

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus has already expressed the views of the vast majority of Bangladesh's citizens

www.thedailystar.net

Govt committed to bringing stolen money back: CA press wing

The interim government is committed to bringing the stolen money back to the country.

"We remain committed to accountability and justice, and we will be working with partners around the world to return the stolen funds to the people of Bangladesh," according to a statement issued from the press Office of Chief Adviser last night.

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus has already expressed the views of the vast majority of Bangladesh's citizens.

He said properties and assets tied to stolen Bangladeshi funds, including those linked to individuals with connections to the previous regime, must be investigated thoroughly.

"If proven to have benefited from embezzlement, we expect those assets to be returned to Bangladesh, where they rightfully belong," he said.

As Prof Yunus told The Sunday Times of London, Tulip Siddiq may not have entirely understood the source of the money and property that she was enjoying in London, but she knows now and should seek forgiveness from the people of Bangladesh, the statement read.

The interim government is actively working with international law enforcement agencies to investigate and recover funds stolen from the people of Bangladesh. Such collaboration is vital to dismantle transnational networks of financial crime.

"We hope and expect all friendly governments, including the UK, to stand with the people of Bangladesh in seeking justice for these crimes. Corruption hurts everyone other than those who perpetrate it-and some of their favoured relatives and cronies."

The ongoing investigation into the $5 billion misappropriation linked to the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant underscores the scale of corruption under the previous government.

The misuse of public resources in this and other projects has not only robbed the people of Bangladesh but also disrupted the country's progress toward economic stability, the statement said.

The theft of billions of dollars in public funds has left Bangladesh with a significant financial deficit.

"The funds stolen from Bangladesh belong to its people. We will continue to work with our international partners to ensure that justice is done," the statement said.​

 

[Saif]

Seizure of 16 properties of S Alam ordered

The Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s court on Tuesday ordered the seizure of 68 bank accounts and 16 properties of S Alam Group chairman Mohammed Saiful Alam and his family.

www.newagebd.net

Seizure of 16 properties of S Alam ordered
Staff Correspondent 14 January, 2025, 18:51

S Alam Group chairman Md Saiful Alam | Collected photo

Court also orders freezing of 68 bank accounts of Alam, family

The Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s court on Tuesday ordered the seizure of 68 bank accounts and 16 properties of S Alam Group chairman Mohammed Saiful Alam and his family.

S Alam Group chairman Saiful Alam was a close associate of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina who fled to India amid a student-led mass uprising on August 5.

Several government agencies are investigating asset embezzlement and money laundering allegations against S Alam.

S Alam allegedly took about Tk 2 lakh crore from a number of banks in names and anonymously. A large portion of the funds was allegedly laundered abroad.

Saiful Alam and his family surrendered their Bangladeshi citizenship in 2020 and took Singaporean citizenship in 2021.

On Tuesday, the Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s court also directed the authorities concerned to freeze five bank accounts of former lawmaker for the Bogura-2 constituency Mohammad Shariful Islam Jinnah and his wife over allegations of corruption.

It also ordered the attachment of one of their vehicles and five immovable properties.

Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Zakir Hossain Galib issued the order for the seizure of bank accounts and properties of Saiful Alam and his family.

He came up with the order following a petition submitted by Anti-Corruption Commission deputy director Siffat Uddin for the seizure of these assets, said ACC public prosecutor Mahmud Hossain Jahangir.

The 16 properties are the 10-story S Alam Tower at Gulshan, a six-story building with one bigha of land at Dhanmondi, a four-story building on 11.88 decimals of land at Dhanmondi Lake Circus, a flat on 2,658 square feet of land at Gulshan, a plot of 0.788 acres at Gulshan 2, a building at Maat Tala in the Uttara residential area, a plot of 103.3 kathas of land in the Bashundhara residential area at Vatara, 1,700 acres of land, 96 kathas of land, 1,536 acres of land, 11,061 bighas of land and 131.4 kathas of land.

Apart from these, the same court also imposed a travel ban on former environment, forest, and climate change minister Md Shahab Uddin, his son Zakir Hossain Jumon, and former deputy minister for environment and forests Abdullah Al Islam Jakob over graft allegations.

Judge Zakir Hossain Galib passed the orders, allowing two separate pleas of the ACC.

The anti-graft body in its plea against Shahab Uddin and his son alleged that the father-son duo had amassed huge illegal wealth through corruption and embezzlement of public money.

The ACC also said that it was probing allegations of corruption, embezzlement of public funds, laundering money, and amassment of huge illegal wealth against Jakob.​