Interpol to arrest Tarique: court

A court in Dhaka has issued a warrant of arrest for BNP senior vice chairman Tarique Rahman and it said the Interpol will be asked to execute it because he is now living in London.

Anti-Corruption Commission’s counsel Mosharraf Hossain Kajol moved a petition for Tarique’s arrest in the Dhaka Special Judge's Court-3.

At the end of the hearing, the judge in charge of this court Mohammad Mozammel Haque issued the warrant of arrest.

This is in connection with the case of corruption filed against Rahman during the interim caretaker government (2006-2008), in which the BNP leader secured bail from the Supreme Court and left for UK for ‘medical treatment’ on Sept 11, 2008.

Charges were framed against Tarique Rahman in his absence on Aug 8, 2011 after the court ordered him to be present without success.

Tarique Rahman, lying low for a while, recently was back in news when he attended a BNP function in East London on 20 May and asked for elections to the country’s parliament to be held under a caretaker administration.

He appealed to Bangladeshi expatriates to pile pressure on the current government on this issue.
Tarique's fusilade came in for severe criticism from the Awami League.

Junior Law Minister Qamrul Islam said on that there was an arrest warrant against Tarique. " Court will do whatever necessary to implement the warrant of arrest."

ACC's Assistant Director Mohammad Ibrahim had filed a money-laundering case against Tarique and his friend and business partner Giasuddin Al Mamun in the Dhaka cantonment police station on Oct 26, 2009.

ACC filed charges against the two on Jul 26, 2010.

According to the case statement, Tarique and Mamun collected funds using political influence and siphoned off TK 204 millions to Singapore between 2003 and 2007.

Part of the money, $750,000, was deposited in Mamun’s account in Singapore Citi Bank.

The Anti-Corruption Commission claimed the duo had swindled the money to a Citibank NA account in Singapore.

An arrest warrant was also issued for Tarique.

On Sunday, Sonali Bank Cantonment Corporate Division Official Bibhuti Bhushan Sarker was questioned by defence lawyers.

He is the tenth witness questioned in the case.

Next date of its hearing date has been fixed for May 29.