ACC prosecutes former mayor Sayeed Khokon, sister over ‘money laundering’

The Anti-Corruption Commission has brought charges of money laundering against former Dhaka South City mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon, his sister Shahana Hanif, and one of their employees.

The charges involve laundering money amounting to Tk 547.88 million.

ACC Director General Akhtar Hossain confirmed the filing of the case on Thursday.

The anti-graft watchdog has also received claims of illegal asset accumulation against the siblings.

ACC Deputy Director Mostafizur Rahman lodged the case at the Integrated District Office, Dhaka.

He said the commission approved the action after receiving allegations of money laundering and reviewing the preliminary evidence from its investigation.

According to the chargesheet, Khokon and Shahana allegedly channelled funds using seven accounts across City Bank, EXIM Bank, and Premier Bank through their company Sayeed Khokon Properties, moving the total sum through layering.

The ACC said Shahana provided “false and misleading” information about her profession, income, and identity when opening the accounts.

Her brother, then serving as mayor, allegedly colluded with the company’s manager Md Raju Ahmed to acquire this money as illicit assets through repeated transactions.

Investigators found multiple savings, SND, and FDR accounts opened in the names of Shahana and Sayeed Khokon Properties at City Bank’s Banani Lakeview branch, as well as at EXIM and Premier Bank’s Banani branches. The accounts were repeatedly used to transfer funds, constituting money laundering.

The ACC said Khokon, Shahana, and Raju allegedly violated Sections 409, 420, and 109 of the Penal Code, Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, and Sections 4(2) and 4(3) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012.