Staff Reporter :
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a chargesheet against former Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) chairman Shamsuddoha Khondokar and his wife for illegally amassing wealth exceeding Tk66 crore.
Investigation Officer Khorshed Alam, assistant director of the ACC, submitted the chargesheet to Judge Mohammad As Shams Jaglul Hossain of the Dhaka Sessions Judge Court on Tuesday, July 2.
According to the ACC, Shamsuddoha and his wife, Ferdowsi Sultana Khondokar, possess a vast amount of assets that exceed their known sources of income. The couple reportedly owns 1,270 acres of land across various parts of the country, including Dhaka. While the documented value of these lands is Tk70 crore, their actual market value exceeds Tk500 crore.
The ACC initiated a case against Shamsuddoha, who is also a former additional inspector general of police, in 2019 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and Section 109 of the Penal Code. The case documents reveal that the market value of a duplex house built on one bigha of land in Gulshan is no less than Tk200 crore.
Shamsuddoha has illegally occupied this government house for the past eight years without paying rent. Despite applying to the Ministry of Housing and Public Works to allocate the house to him, his application was rejected because he received another plot in Purbachal. Nevertheless, he continues to occupy the house.
On March 18, the court ordered the seizure of these properties. The following day, Shamsuddoha Khondokar appealed to the High Court, which stayed the order.
Sources indicate that the couple is currently not in the country. Amid widespread corruption cases involving government employees, Shamsuddoha has reportedly moved to Canada with his family.
