Verdicts in 6 plot graft cases against Hasina, family by November: ACC chief

Momen says that steps are being taken to revive British MP Tulip Siddiq's case, which was previously stayed by a High Court order

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Abdul Momen has said the verdicts in six corruption cases against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her family over irregularities in the allocation of plots in the Purbachal New Town Project are expected to be delivered by late October or November.

He also mentioned that steps are being taken to revive the graft case against Hasina's niece and British MP Tulip Siddiq, which was previously stayed by the High Court.

The ACC chief made the remarks while speaking to journalists on Wednesday after signing a five-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB).

This is the fifth MoU between the anti-graft watchdog and TIB aimed at preventing corruption. The agreement was signed at the ACC headquarters by the ACC Director General Md Akhtar Hossain and TIB's Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman.

Iftekharuzzaman later said, "We first signed an MoU with the ACC in 2015. Until now, the agreements had a two to three-year term. The current term ends on Sept 30."

"Among the several areas we have agreed upon, a key one is cooperation in research, data collection, and analysis. This will facilitate joint or independent research. The second area is the expansion of advisory activities for corruption prevention at both national and local levels."

When asked about the plot graft cases against Hasina and her family, the ACC chairman said: "A total of six cases against the former prime minister and her family are currently ongoing. We hope that after the witness examinations are complete, the court will consider the evidence and announce its verdict in late October or early November."

About the stay on Tulip's flat fraud case, he said: "Since one lawyer got involved, other lawyers naturally showed professional solidarity. As a result, a stay order was issued by the High Court. We are currently in the process of getting that stay order vacated. Once it is done, the case will move forward."