ACC sues 2 ex-ministers, 1 MP for illegal wealth accumulation

The Anti Corruption Commission on Thursday sued former State Minister for Water Resources Mahbubur Rahman, former State Minister for Housing and Public Works Abdul Mannan Khan and Cox’s Bazar-4 (Teknaf) MP Abdur Rahman Bodi on charge of acquiring wealth illegally. ACC officials filed three separate cases against the trio with Ramna Police Station around 3 pm, ACC public relations officer Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya told UNB. ACC deputy director Khairul Huda filed a case against Mahbubur Rahman while deputy director Nasir Uddin filed a case against Abdul Mannan Khan, while deputy director Mohammad Abdus Sobhan filed another case against Abdur Rahman Bodi. Earlier in the day, the Commission at a meeting approved filing the cases against them as it found prima facie evidence of irregularities against them. According to the first information report (FIR), Mahbubur Rahman acquired movable and immovable wealth worth about Tk 5.2 crore and occupied the wealth by signing advance payment deals. Mahbub also concealed wealth worth about Tk 1.25 crore in his wealth statement. He submitted his wealth account to the Commission on April 3 in 2014 mentioning his wealth of Tk 5,85,00,512. During the ACC inquiry, it was found that he amassed the huge wealth illegally during 2009-2013. Former State Minister for Housing and Public Works Abdul Mannan Khan earned wealth worth about Tk 75 lakh illegally and canceled the wealth information of around Tk 4.6 lakh in his wealth report submitted to the Commission on April 9 in 2014, the case statement says. As per the FIR, Abdur Rahman Bodi submitted his wealth statement to the ACC on February 23 last mentioning his and his family’s wealth worth about Tk 5.2 crore. Examining his income tax return, the ACC probe found that he acquired over Tk 16.07 crore in last five years (2009-13). He earned illegal wealth worth nearly Tk 11 crore. Bodi in his wealth report also mentioned an additional amount of nearly Tk 2 crore showing a higher price of his sold wealth to make it legal. All the three cases were filed under the Anti Corruption Commission Act 2004. – UNB, Dhaka.