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Published : 05 Jul 2026, 03:29 PM
The hearing on whether formal charges will be framed against former National Board of Revenue (NBR) official Motiur Rahman, who became widely known in connection with a "goat scandal," has concluded in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over allegations that he acquired illicit wealth worth approximately Tk 54 million.
The court has set Jul 21 for its order on whether the case will go to trial.
The order was issued on Sunday by Divisional Special Judge BM Tarikul Kabir of Dhaka.
According to ACC Court Inspector Md Saiful Islam, Motiur was brought to court from jail for the hearing. His lawyers, Anwar Zahid Bhuiyan, President of the Dhaka Bar Association, and Md Borhan Uddin, a prosecutor in the Peelkhana massacre case, argued for his discharge from the case.
ACC prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam argued in favour of framing charges.
Earlier, on Dec 15, 2024, the ACC filed the case against Motiur. The case alleges that he acquired Tk 520 million in assets beyond his known sources of income and concealed information about assets worth Tk 12.7 million.
After completing its investigation, the ACC approved the charge sheet against Motiur on Feb 3. According to the charge sheet, he provided "false and baseless" information in his wealth statement and concealed assets worth Tk 12.4 million.
The charge sheet further alleges that, "As a government official, he abused his authority and accumulated illicit wealth through bribery and corruption, acquiring assets worth Tk 54 million beyond his known sources of income, while concealing them under his own name."
He has been charged under Sections 26(2) and 27(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, along with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.
Motiur was arrested by the Detective Branch (DB) Police on Jan 14, 2025, and has remained in custody since then.
The controversy surrounding Motiur began during Eid-ul-Adha 2024, when a Facebook post showed a young man named Ifat purchasing a goat worth Tk 1.5 million from Sadiq Agro. It was later revealed that Ifat was the son of NBR revenue official Motiur.
Following the public attention generated by the incident, the ACC launched an investigation into corruption allegations against Motiur.
