The Anti-Corruption Commission on Wednesday filed two separate cases against former textile and jute minister Golam Dastagir Gazi, and his wife, Hasina Gazi, on charges of amassing wealth beyond known sources of income and engaging in suspicious financial transactions.
The Dhaka metropolitan senior special judge court on the day ordered the freezing of 39 bank accounts with Tk 5.26 crore of former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury over graft allegations.
The ACC filed the two cases against Dastagir and Hasina Gazi with its integrated district office in Dhaka-1, said ACC director general Md Aktar Hossain at a press briefing.
According to the case statement, Dastagir, also a former Awami League lawmaker from the Narayanganj-1 constituency, allegedly amassed illegal assets worth Tk聽23.51 crore and conducted suspicious transactions involving Tk聽257.75 crore in his six bank accounts.
An inquiry revealed that Gazi鈥檚 total assets amounted to Tk 448.42 crore, whereas his legitimate income sources could only account for Tk聽424.90 crore, said the case statement.
Another case was filed against Hasina Gazi on charges of amassing illegal assets worth Tk 9.69 crore and engaging in suspicious transactions of Tk聽31.69 crore in her five bank accounts.
After the fall of Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 government on August 5, 2024, amid a student-led mass uprising, the ACC launched an inquiry against Dastagir.
Dastagir was arrested on August 25, 2024 from a relative鈥檚 house in the Shantinagar area of the capital Dhaka. He was later shown as arrested in a case filed over the murder of school student Roman Mia at Rupganj.
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Zakir Hossain Galib ordered the freezing of 39 bank accounts with Tk聽5.26 crore of Saifuzzaman.
The court issued the order following a petition submitted by ACC deputy director Md Mahfuz Iqbal seeking the order.
The ACC in its plea stated that the commission had already formed a team to probe money laundering allegations against Saifuzzaman.
On October 7, 2024, a court imposed a travel ban on Saifuzzaman and his wife, Rukmila Zaman.
