Bashundhara Group chief, family surrender

Bashundhara Group chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, better known as Shah Alam, wife Afroza Begum and two of his sons surrendered before a Dhaka court in tax-dodge cases on Monday. Judge Mozammel Hossain said they will be free until June 25 until when the High Court had stayed the proceedings of the cases. Then they will have to surrender before court after that date. FULL STORY

Dhaka, May 25 (bdnews24.com)—Bashundhara Group chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, better known as Shah Alam, wife Afroza Begum and two of their sons surrendered before a Dhaka court in a tax-dodge case on Monday.

They appealed for bail in four tax-evasion cases in which each of them has been sentenced eight years in jail.

Sobhan along with his wife and sons Sadat Sobhan Tanvir and Sayem Sobhan surrendered before the Dhaka's Special Judge's Court at around 3:48pm.

Judge Mozammel Hossain said they will be free until June 25 until when the High Court had stayed the proceedings of the cases. Then they will have to surrender before court after that date.

A special judge's court handed down the sentence to Sobhan, his wife and their three sons on Sept. 30, 2007. The other son, Shafayet Sobhan, did not surrender.

Kabir Uddin Molla, deputy tax commissioner of the National Board of Revenue, filed the case on July 25, 2007.

The case statement said the accused had evaded tax worth Tk 8.26 crore from 2000-01 to 2006-07 tax years.

A Dhaka court on July 7 last year sentenced the business conglomerate chief to two years in jail for illegally possessing foreign currency.

Afroza and Tanvir, Sayem Sobhan and Safayet Sobhan also received similar sentences in the same case.

Dhaka metropolitan first additional sessions judge Md Abul Bashar also fined them Tk 10,000 each. They have to serve out three more months in jail on failure to pay the fine.

Sub-inspector Md Faruque Hossain of Gulshan Police Station filed the case against them on Feb 19 after joint forces retrieved Tk 14.32 lakh in foreign currency in their home on Feb 4.

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