Momen's wealth doubles after 'joining politics from teaching'
Over the past five years since leaving teaching and embracing politics as a profession, the assets of the foreign minister have nearly doubled. However, his income has decreased during the period
In the affidavit submitted with the nomination papers before the election in 2018, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen mentioned his profession as "teaching and others."
He was elected a lawmaker for the first time from the Sylhet-1 constituency and got the charge of foreign minister. This time, Momen has again become a candidate from the same seat and in the affidavit, he mentioned "politics and others" as his profession.
Over the past five years since leaving teaching and embracing politics as a profession, the assets of the foreign minister have nearly doubled. However, his income has decreased during the period.
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The information has been collected after analysing two affidavits submitted to the returning officer's office before the 11th and 12th national elections.
Before the 2018 election, Abdul Momen had Tk1 crore 77 lakh 77 thousand in his bank account. Now, he has Tk3 crore 96 lakh in the bank account. In total, the value of his assets is Tk4 crore 79 lakh, compared to the Tk2 crore 85 lakh 56 thousand he had before the last election. This is an increase of nearly Tk1 crore 93 lakh 54 thousand in his assets over the past five years.
Abdul Momen, a post-graduate by qualification, has no cases filed against him.
According to the affidavit, the annual income of the foreign minister is now slightly over Tk26 lakh, which was approximately Tk36 lakh in 2018. Currently, he earns around Tk4 lakh from house and shop rent, approximately Tk12 lakh 60 thousand from his profession, and about Tk9 lakh 61 thousand in profits from bank deposits.
Abdul Momen's current fixed assets have not increased significantly. Now, his fixed assets amount to approximately Tk4 crore 62 lakh, while in 2018, it was valued at Tk4 crore 24 lakh.
His wife Selina Momen's wealth has not increased over the five years. She has movable assets worth Tk8 lakh, similar to what she had in 2018.
Seven candidates in Sylhet-1
Seven candidates submitted nomination papers for the Sylhet-1 constituency this time. According to the affidavit information, the wealthiest among them is Awami League candidate Abdul Momen. Following him is independent candidate Mohammad Misbah Uddin Siraj, a former three-time organising secretary of the Awami League central committee.
Misbah Uddin, a lawyer by profession, has an annual income of around Tk17 lakh. He has movable assets of Tk2 crore and the wife has movable assets of Tk1 crore 63 lakh. Misbah has immovable assets of Tk68 lakh while his wife's immovable assets include a two-storey house. However, while Abdul Momen has no debt, Misbah has a personal debt of Tk37.5 lakh.
