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Published : 29 Nov 2025, 11:37 PM
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has opened an inquiry into allegations that Transcom Group Chief Executive Officer Simeen Rahman paid Tk 1 billion in bribes to Sheikh Hasina to suppress several cases lodged against her.
In the first week of this month, the ACC assigned one of its deputy directors as the inquiry officer, according to an official familiar with the move. The commission has since begun examining the complaint.
The ACC says Simeen allegedly offered Tk 1 billion to Hasina to steer clear of multiple cases against her, including charges of murder, share fraud and deception.
A senior ACC official said the inquiry is looking into the involvement of individuals and institutions named in the complaint.
On Nov 5, the commission appointed Deputy Director AKM Mahbubur Rahman as the inquiry officer. He said the investigation is ongoing.
The ACC has assigned the director of its Inquiry and Investigation-2 wing to supervise the work. In a letter, the commission said it had already decided to investigate the allegations.
The appointment letter instructed the inquiry officer to submit a report in due course. It also directed him to notify the Inquiry and Investigation-2 wing in writing if seizing assets or freezing bank accounts becomes necessary.
bdnews24.com could not reach Simeen for comment on the allegations. Transcom Group’s media, legal, public relations teams or company secretary also did not respond.
In three graft cases over plot irregularities, the ACC saw the court convict former Hasina, now deposed, and sentence her to 21 years in prison.
The graftbuster is investigating a series of allegations against Hasina and members of her family, including abuse of power involving plots, tolls, and grants, alongside claims of corruption and money laundering. To date, the commission has filed at least 15 cases against family members, three of which were concluded on Thursday.
Earlier, on Nov 17, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced Hasina to death for orchestrating crimes against humanity in an attempt to suppress the July Uprising.The dispute inside the country’s major business conglomerate became public when Simeen’s younger sister, Shahzreh Haque, accused her of murdering their brother, Arshad Waliur Rahman.
On Mar 21, 2024, Shahzreh filed a case with Gulshan Police, naming Simeen, her son and Transcom’s Head of Transformation Zaraif Ayaat Hossain, along with eight others.
She had filed the case 10 months after Arshad was found dead in his bedroom at his home in Gulshan on Jun 16, 2023. Doctors declared him dead on arrival at hospital.
On Mar 31, 2024, the High Court ordered Simeen and two others to surrender within 72 hours of returning to Bangladesh.
Shahzreh had previously filed three other cases accusing family members and Transcom officials of embezzlement, property grabbing and unlawfully transferring shares. Five Transcom officials were arrested in connection with those cases.
The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) later seized several documents from Transcom’s Gulshan head office.
Founder Latifur Rahman died on Jul 1, 2020. His wife, Shahnaz Rahman, became chairperson a month later, while their eldest daughter, Simeen, took over as CEO.
Three and a half years later, Shahzreh’s legal actions exposed the deepening rift within the family.
Shahnaz is now chairperson, Simeen the CEO, and Shahzreh a director of the group.
