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Published : 21 Dec 2025, 02:40 PM
A court in Bangladesh has imposed a travel ban on deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is currently in India, along with 16 others.
The order was issued on Sunday by a Dhaka court after an application was filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), according to the commission's spokesman Tanzir Ahmed.
Those named in the order include Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader, Presidium members Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed and Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, former law minister Anisul Huq, Muhammad Abdul Mannan, MAN Siddique, Md Faruk Jalil, Shafiqul Karim, Firoz Iqbal, Ibne Alam Hasan, Md Aftab Hossain Khan, Md Abdus Salam, Monir-uz-Zaman Chowdhury, Selina Chowdhury, and Ikram Iqbal.
The ACC said the order was made by the Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s Court during the court’s vacation period.
Court documents filed by anti-graft agency indicate the travel ban is linked to allegations of financial irregularities involving a toll collection contract awarded during Hasina’s time in office.
According to the ACC, a five-year contract to collect tolls at the Meghna–Gomti Bridge was awarded in 2016 to Computer Network System Ltd (CNS) through a single-source tender, after an earlier bidding process was cancelled. The company was paid nearly Tk 4.9 billion under a service charge set at 17.75 percent of toll collections, excluding tax, the commission said.
The ACC alleges that the arrangement caused a loss to the state of about Tk 3.1 billion, which it says was misappropriated through collusion involving company executives, government officials and members of the cabinet committee responsible for public procurement.
Investigators told the court there was a risk the accused could leave the country, potentially obstructing the investigation or leading to the destruction of evidence, and sought restrictions on foreign travel to ensure a proper inquiry.
The case was filed on Oct 12 against Hasina and 16 others at the ACC’s Dhaka office.
Hasina fled to India after her Awami League government was toppled by a student-led mass uprising in August 2024. Several senior party figures are also believed to be there.
In a separate case, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina to death in November after convicting her of crimes against humanity over the crackdown on last year's student-led protests. Former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal received the same sentence, while former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun was given a reduced jail term after turning state witness.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry has formally asked India to send back Hasina and Kamal, and the interim government has said it is considering international legal options to secure their extradition.
