Court seizes Salman’s 12 acres land

Staff Reporter :

The court has directed the attachment of 12 acres of land and 16 percent shares belonging to Salman F. Rahman, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s business advisor, and frozen his bank account in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over embezzlement and suspicious financial transactions. Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md. Sabbir Faiz issued the order on Monday, November 24, following an application by the ACC, which was confirmed by the court’s bench assistant, Md. Riaz Hossain.

ACC Assistant Director Sajjad Hossain, the investigation officer, had applied for the attachment of assets and freezing of the bank account, citing that a total of 30 individuals, including Salman F. Rahman, misused their positions to orchestrate fraudulent money transfers.

According to the application, the accused allegedly inflated the value of mortgaged properties at the IFIC Bank principal branch, raised Tk 1,000 crore by selling bonds to the public, and deposited the funds into the GCB current account of Sripur Township Limited.

Out of the deposited money, Tk 200 crore was placed in a fixed deposit redemption account, while the remaining Tk 800 crore was transferred to accounts of Beximco Engineering Limited, Beximco Group, and other institutions.

The funds were subsequently withdrawn in cash and through various questionable transactions, violating banking regulations and leading to embezzlement. The case charges the accused with layering the embezzled money through multiple transfers and conversions.

Investigation records indicate that Salman F. Rahman and Sripur Township Limited own the 12 acres of land, 16 percent of immovable property, and a bank account in Gazipur.

The ACC highlighted that during the investigation, the accused were attempting to transfer ownership of the property and move funds from the bank account.

Allowing such transfers could undermine the recovery of criminally acquired assets after a court verdict. Therefore, the commission urged the court to attach the immovable properties and freeze the bank account to prevent the dissipation of assets.