ACC to probe money laundering allegations against brother of ex-Chief Justice Sinha

The Anti-Corruption Commission has launched an investigation into allegations against Ananta Kumar Sinha, the brother of former Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, who has laundered money to purchase a three-storey home in the US.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 1 Oct 2018, 08:01 AM
Updated : 1 Oct 2018, 12:58 PM

The ACC launched the investigation after scrutinising an allegation filed by an individual, said ACC spokesman Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya.

“The ACC has received an allegation that Bangladeshi citizen Ananta Kumar Sinha has bought a three-storey, 4,000 sq ft house for $280,000, laundered money abroad and amassed a significant amount of wealth illegally.”

A two-member investigation team led by ACC Assistant Director Gulshan Anwar Pradhan has been formed to probe the claim, said Bhattacharya. The other member of the team is Deputy Assistant Director Silvia Ferdous.

Justice Sinha had faced criticism from the ruling Awami League over the verdict of the 16th amendment to the constitution and left the country on leave in October last year. Later, he submitted his resignation from abroad.

Justice Sinha then wrote a book titled ‘A Broken Dream: Rule of Law, Human Rights and Democracy’ in which he said that he resigned in the face of intimidation and threats and that the government had exiled him. 

Sinha has applied for asylum in the US, he told reporters at the launch of his book in Washington on Saturday.

Reports of Sinha buying a house in New Jersey using his brother Ananta Kumar Sinha’s name soon surfaced.

An expatriate Bangladeshi journalist asked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina if the government will adopt any measure regarding the purchase of the house, while she stayed in the US to attend the UN General Council.

“It is not very tough to buy a house in the US, it is hard in Bangladesh. The price has increased in Bangladesh. Here, you can own a house if you deposit a certain amount. But we will act if you can provide proper information,” the prime minister said.

The Anti-Corruption Commission has barred seven persons, including the former managing director of the scam-hit Farmers Bank AKM Shamim, from travelling abroad as it is investigating an allegation of a Tk 40 million transfer to Sinha’s bank account.

The commission had interrogated two businessmen -- Md Shahjahan and Niranjan Chandra Saha -- on the issue on May 6.

The two businessmen borrowed Tk 40 million from the Farmers Bank and allegedly transferred the fund as a bribe to an ‘important person’s bank account without mentioning a specific name through a pay order’, the commission stated as the reason for the summons.

Justice Sinha was the account bearer, although the ACC documents did not bear the name of the ‘important person’, according to media reports.

The lawyers of both the businessmen mentioned transactions with Justice Sinha after the interrogation.