ACC shows Masud held in Tk119cr Malaysia workers’ case

Former lawmaker and retired Lieutenant General Masud Uddin Chowdhury has been shown arrested in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission over allegations of embezzling more than Tk119 crore from Malaysia-bound workers.

Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Sabbir Fayez passed the order on Monday following an application filed by the ACC.

ACC Assistant Director Md Abul Kalam Azad, the investigating officer of the case, submitted the application on March 25 seeking to show Masud arrested in the case. ACC Prosecutor Delowar Jahan Rumi confirmed the matter.

According to the ACC application, Masud and others, in collusion with one another, allegedly abused government authority after being appointed as agents for recruiting workers for Malaysia. Although the government-fixed migration cost was Tk78,990 per worker, the accused allegedly collected additional money from workers at different stages.

The ACC alleged that the accused illegally collected an additional Tk119.32 crore from the recruited workers, causing financial losses to them.

The case was filed under the Penal Code, the Money Laundering Prevention Act and the Anti-Corruption Commission Act on charges of collecting money illegally and laundering it through concealment, transfer, transportation and conversion.

In its application, the ACC said Masud might obstruct the investigation if released on bail in the case. It said showing him arrested was necessary in the interest of a fair investigation.

Earlier, on the night of March 22, Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Branch police arrested Masud from his residence in Baridhara DOHS in the capital.

He was later arrested in another case and is currently in jail after being placed on remand in different cases.