No legal existence of Putul’s Shuchona Foundation: ACC
NN Online:
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Wednesday said the Shuchona Foundation, established by Saima Wazed Putul, daughter of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, lacks a registered address, and its illegal activities have come to light.
A team of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), led by its ACC Assistant director Md Naushad Ali, raided the so-called registered address of Shuchona Foundation but found its no existence there.
The ACC initiated the legal enforcement operation following allegations of misappropriation of state funds through irregularities and corruption by the foundation’s president and several others.
During the operation, the ACC team first collected and reviewed the foundation’s registration records from the Dhaka District Social Services Office.
Later, they physically inspected the foundation’s official address but found no presence of the organisation.
To investigate the tax exemptions granted to the Shuchona Foundation, the team obtained relevant Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs) from the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
Upon review, the ACC team found preliminary evidence that the foundation had been exempted from paying income tax on all its earnings, including interest from permanent and savings bank deposits, consultancy fees, and research fees since 2016.
The team will submit a detailed report to the ACC soon.
On Wednesday afternoon, the ACC initially said the Shuchona Foundation was located in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, and a raid was conducted at that address.
On Sunday last, the ACC revealed that Saima Wazed, the regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO) for South-East Asia, had inaccurately provided information regarding her eligibility when she was nominated for the position, as she was a Canadian citizen at the time.
The ACC also said there are credible corruption allegations against her.
According to the ACC, Saima Wazed allegedly misused her influence to secure financial benefits for the Shuchona Foundation, receiving gifts and funds from various social and business institutions.
The ACC sources further claimed that Saima exerted undue influence over the NBR to secure tax exemptions for the foundation’s entitled funds.
On November 24, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), the financial intelligence wing of the Central Bank, had ordered the freezing of the bank accounts of the Shuchona Foundation.