Court orders seizure of family assets of ex-Hasina aide Jahangir

The court also imposed a travel ban on the family members of Jahangir

A court has ordered the seizure of land and a flat worth a total of nearly Tk 19.7 million owned by Jahangir Alam, a former personal assistant to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, and directed the freezing of seven bank accounts in the name of his wife, Kamrun Nahar.

Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Sabbir Faez passed the order on Tuesday following separate petitions filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

Bench assistant Riaz Hossain said the court ordered the seizure of 35 decimals of land worth Tk 13.3 million in Noakhali Sadar and Chatkhil Upazilas in Jahangir Alam’s name. It also ordered the seizure of a 1,385-square-foot flat in Mirpur valued at Tk 4.1 million.

He added that the seven bank accounts in the name of Jahangir’s wife Kamrun Nahar, which the court ordered to be frozen, hold a total of Tk 10 million.

ACC Assistant Director Piyas Pal filed the petitions seeking seizure of the land and flat and freezing of the bank accounts.

According to the petition, Jahangir is accused of amassing illegal wealth worth Tk 182.9 million. The ACC has also filed a case after finding records of suspicious transactions amounting to Tk 6.26 billion through his personal accounts and various businesses he owns. To ensure a proper investigation, the ACC said, it was necessary to seize the assets in his name.

In a separate petition regarding Kamrun Nahar, the ACC said she is accused of acquiring illegal wealth worth Tk 68 million. The commission filed a case after finding suspicious transactions totalling Tk 59.6 million through seven savings and DPS accounts in her name, and sought to freeze those accounts in the interest of a fair investigation.

While discussing corruption in July last year, ousted prime minister Hasina spoke about Jahangir and mentioned that he possessed assets worth Tk 4 billion, which he allegedly acquired through corrupt practices.

Jahangir served as Sheikh Hasina’s personal assistant for two consecutive terms but was later removed from the position following various allegations.