Former secretary Ismail arrested in ACC case

A close aide to former food minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder, he is accused of bribery for promotions, appointments, and other forms of graft

A court has shown Ismail Hossain, former secretary of the food ministry, arrested as a suspect in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) against former food minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder.

Vacation Judge of Dhaka Metropolitan Session Court Md Ibrahim Mia issued the order following a hearing on Tuesday.

ACC Assistant Director Afnan Jannat Keya petitioned the court to show Ismail arrested in the case after bringing him to the court from jail, said ACC counsel Meer Mosharraf Ali Salam. The court later issued the order.

Ismail, a close aide to the former food minister, is accused of bribery and graft for transfers, promotions and other forms of corruption, the petition said.

Sadhan Chandra has already been shown arrested in the case.

An investigation showed that Ismail was his accomplice and assisted him in hiding the sources of illegally accumulated wealth through money laundering, bribery and corruption, the petition said. After hearing the ACC, the court showed him arrested and sent to jail.

On Dec 19, the ACC filed a case against Sadhan Chandra accusing him for illegal assets amounting to Tk 253 million and abnormal bank transactions worth Tk 430 million.

This is a punishable offence under section 27 (1) of the Corruption Control Commission Act 2004. The accused misused the power bestowed upon them to perform their responsibility and accumulate wealth illegally, the ACC says.

Besides, suspect Sadhan Chandra Majumder had transactions worth Tk 430 million through 65 bank accounts under his name and his company’s name. He kept Tk 234.6 million deposited in the banks and withdrew Tk 195 million. Currently, the bank accounts’ balance stands at Tk 39.6 million. These transactions of large amounts were suspicious and the ACC assumed he earned the amount by accepting bribes and through corruption while serving as the food minister.