A Dhaka court has ordered to freeze 40 bank accounts — both personal and institutionally owned — belonging to Mahbubul Alam Hanif, former lawmaker and Joint General Secretary of the ousted Awami League, and his wife Fowzia Alam, following a petition by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The court of Md Zakir Hossain, Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge, recently passed the order and directed the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) and Bangladesh Bank to freeze the accounts in order to ensure fair investigation into corruption allegations against Hanif and his family members.
According to the court order, while the freezing directive remains in effect, deposits may be made into the frozen accounts, but no withdrawals are permitted under any circumstances.
According to sources, ACC Deputy Director and Investigating Officer Md Saiduzzaman has recently applied to the court for freezing the movable assets of the alleged accused Mahbubul Alam Hanif and his family members under Section 14 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2012 and Rule 18 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Rules, 2007. All documents of 40 bank accounts, where total Tk448,01,13,767 was deposited, were also submitted to the court.
After reviewing the application along with the submitted documents related to 40 bank accounts in different banks operated by Hanif and his wife Fowzia, the court on Wednesday (7 May) passed the order to freeze the movable assets in the interest of a fair investigation, ACC sources confirmed the Daily Sun.
Regarding the investigation, ACC Director and Head of Investigation Md Rafiquzzaman told the Daily Sun, “We are suspecting that he acquired a great deal of undisclosed wealth by abusing his power while he was a member of parliament. We have also found some suspicious transactions in his personal and privately-owned institutional accounts.”
We are currently investigating the matter, and if evidence is found, a case will be filed against him and a charge-sheet will be submitted,” the ACC Director added.
Earlier, following the ouster of the Awami League government, the BFIU instructed banks to freeze the accounts of several individuals, including Mahbubul Alam Hanif, based on suspicious transactions and allegations.
On 6 October last year, the BFIU issued directives to all banks and financial institutions in this regard. At the same time, the accounts of Hanif’s wife, her family members, and their privately-owned institution were also ordered to be frozen.
On 16 March this year, a Dhaka court imposed a travel ban on Mahbubul Alam Hanif, his wife Fouzia Alam, sons Fahim Afsar Alam and Farhan Sadiq Alam, and daughter Tanisha Alam in connection with corruption allegations.
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Zakir Hossain issued the order following an application submitted by ACC Deputy Director Md Saiduzzaman seeking a ban on their departure from the country.
However, according to sources, AL leader Mahbubul Alam Hanif had already left the country before the court imposed the travel ban. He is currently staying in neighbouring India, AL sources confirmed.
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