ACC presses charges against ex-BIWTA chair, wife for ‘illegally’ amassing Tk67cr

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 around Tk67.27 crore.

Khorshed Alam, assistant director of the ACC, submitted the chargesheet before the Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Mohammad As-shams Jaglul Hossain's court on Tuesday (2 July).

According to the ACC, Shamsuddoha, also the former Additional Inspector General of Police (AIGP), and his wife Ferdowsi Sultana Khondokar own a huge amount of assets "beyond known source of income".

Ferdowsi Sultana is a housewife by profession. She has no specific source of income. However, she owns assets worth more than Tk27 crore in various locations, including in Dhaka's Dohar. Ferdowsi built these assets using money from her husband's "illegal" income, as per the ACC.

The ACC filed a case against Shamsuddoha and his wife in 2019 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and Section 109 of the Penal Code.

According to the chargesheet, Shamsuddoha Khondokar concealed assets worth over Tk8.44 crore. There is also evidence of him acquiring assets totalling over Tk2.87 crore from unknown sources, and suspicious transactions were found in various banks.

In February of this year, a Dhaka court directed the confiscation of Shamsuddoha's immovable assets, including a park named "Wonderella Green Park," which spans 12.87 acres of land in Nawabganj, Dhaka.

According to sources, the couple is currently not in the country. Following widespread cases of corruption among different government employees, he has fled to Canada with his family.

Shamsuddoha Khondkar assumed the post of chairman of BIWTA on 11 October 2011. During his tenure, he faced accusations of several irregularities and corruption, which led to his removal in February 2015. Prior to this role, he served as the AIGP.