High Court orders seven-year jail term for BNP leader Tarique Rahman in money laundering case

The High Court has overturned a trial court’s verdict that acquitted BNP leader Tarique Rahman from money laundering charges.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 21 July 2016, 05:08 AM
Updated : 21 July 2016, 02:39 PM

It ordered seven years in prison for him and slapped a Tk 200 million fine.

The bench of justices M Enayetur Rahim and Amir Hossain gave its decision on Thursday on an appeal by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC).

In November 2013, a Dhaka court acquitted Tarique, the elder son of BNP chief Khaleda Zia, over charges brought against him for siphoning off Tk 204.1 million to Singapore between 2003 and 2007.

But his close business associate Giasuddin-Al-Mamun was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined Tk 400 million.

Mamun also challenged the verdict. The High Court on Thursday upheld his prison term but commuted the financial penalty to Tk 200 million.

  • In October 2009, the ACC filed the case with the Dhaka Cantonment Police Station against Tarique and Mamun.

 

  • The ACC submitted the charge-sheet against them at the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in July 2010.

 

  • Mamun took Tk 204.1 million as bribes from Khadiza Islam, Director of Nirman Construction Ltd, promising the contract for building a 80MW power plant at Tongi.

 

  • Mamun deposited the money in the Capital Street Branch of Singapore’s Citibank, from where Tarique withdrew Tk 30.78 million.

 

  • In August 2012, the court indicted the duo under the Money Laundering Act 2002 and issued an arrest warrant for Tarique.

‘It’s a financial crime’

The trial court’s verdict said that Tarique did not deny spending that money, which he had stated in his wealth statement submitted to the ACC in 2007.

It said that the charges of money laundering against him have not been proven.

On Thursday, the High Court overturned the verdict and observed it as ‘financial crime.’

It said that money laundering hinders sustainable economic development of the country.

“It’s time to stop such crimes,” the High Court said in its verdict.

Tarique’s counsel Mahbubuddin Khokon said that they were taken aback by the verdict. “We are astonished and shocked.”

He said that Tarique’s associate Mamun will appeal against the decision.

The matter of challenging the verdict of Tarique will be decided later since he is abroad, said another defence counsel Md Jalaluddin.

“We will decide on the next step after consulting Tarique,” he said.

ACC counsel Khurshid Alam Khan, however, said that Tarique has to surrender before filing an appeal. “He has to turn himself in first. He will get 30 days to challenge the verdict.”

In his reaction over the verdict, Khan said that it once again endorsed that no one is above the law.

“The court said that it’s now time to rethink these matters as power and money laundering is linked.”

Tarique, who faces trial for several charges, was arrested on Mar 7, 2007, during the state of emergency.

In September next year, after securing a bail from the Supreme Court, Tarique went to the UK citing medical reasons.

He has been in London ever since, even attending some BNP events in the city.