The court has ordered the seizure of income tax records of former Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, former State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam, and five others, following a petition by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge and Senior Special Judge Md. Sabbir Faiz issued the order on Sunday, ACC Assistant Director (Public Relations) Tanzir Ahmed confirmed.
The others whose income tax documents have been ordered seized are: former Railways Minister Md. Mujibul Haque, former State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr. Enamur Rahman, former Member of Parliament Golam Faruk Khandaker Prince, Tipu Munshi’s wife Irene Malavika Munshi, and former Appellate Division judge AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik.
ACC Assistant Director Papon Kumar Saha filed seven separate petitions seeking the court’s directive to seize the income tax records of these seven individuals.
Special public prosecutors (PP) Mohammad Tarikul Islam and Delwar Jahan Rumi presented arguments on behalf of the ACC. After the hearing, the court ordered the seizure of each individual’s income tax documents.
According to the ACC petitions, cases have been filed alleging illegal wealth accumulation of Tk 7.39 crore against Md. Mujibul Haque, Tk 5.90 crore against Tipu Munshi, Tk 4.18 crore against Irene Malavika Munshi, Tk 6.50 crore against Dr. Enamur Rahman, Tk 9.91 crore against Golam Faruk Khandaker Prince, and Tk 5.39 crore against A.H.M. Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik.
In addition, the ACC has filed a case against Shahriar Alam over allegations of amassing a large amount of illegal wealth and carrying out unlawful transactions through his bank accounts. The cases also include charges of money laundering against all the accused.
The ACC stated that, for proper investigation, it is essential to examine the income tax records from the beginning to the end of the relevant tax years. For that reason, the seizure of the documents is necessary, and under income tax law, a court order is required to conduct the seizure.
