Wealth beyond known income sources: HC upholds imprisonment of BNP leaders Tuku, Aman

The High Court has upheld the nine-year sentence of BNP leader Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku and the 13-year sentence of another BNP leader Aman Ullah Aman in two separate cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on charges of acquiring wealth beyond known source of income. 

The High Court (HC) has directed them to surrender before the lower court within the next two weeks, confirmed Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik.

He said these two BNP leaders can appeal to the Appellate Division against the judgment of the High Court after surrendering to the lower court according to the instructions of the verdict.

The HC bench of Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat pronounced the verdict on Tuesday (30 May).

In March 2007, ACC Deputy Director Shahriar Chowdhury filed a case against Tuku with Mohammadpur police station on the charge of concealing the source of income for property worth Tk49,611,916.

The Commission's Deputy Director SMM Akhtar Hamid Bhuiyan filed a charge sheet in the case in the Metropolitan Magistrate Court on 28 June that year.

On 15 November 2007, the lower court sentenced Tuku to nine years in prison over the case.

When Tuku appealed against that verdict, the HC acquitted him on 15 June 2011. However, when the ACC appealed against the judgment of the HC on 21 January, 2014, the Appellate Division cancelled the acquittal and ordered a retrial.

Tuku applied for a review of this judgment but the Appellate Division dismissed the application.

On the other hand, on 6 March, 2007, the ACC filed a case against BNP leader Aman Ullah Aman and his wife Sabera Aman at the capital's Kafrul police station on charges of concealing information of wealth and acquiring wealth beyond known income.

Aman was sentenced to 13 years in prison and Sabera to three years in prison in a judgment of the Special Judge's Court on 21 June, 2007. They appealed to the HC against this verdict.

On 16 August 2010, the HC accepted the appeal and acquitted them. When the ACC appealed against the judgment of the HC, the Appellate Division on 26 May 2014 dismissed the judgment and directed the HC to re-hear the appeal of the case.

On 14 May this year, the rehearing of the appeal in the HC ended with the cancelation of the appeal of BNP leader Aman Ullah Aman and his wife Sabera Aman in the corruption case.