Ershad donates all his assets to trust he forms

HM Ershad, the ailing chairman of the Jatiya Party, has formed a trust and donated all of his assets to it.

The 89-year-old leader of the official opposition in parliament is also a member of the five-strong board of trustees.

But he has not put his wife Raushon Ershad and brother GM Quader in the trust.

The other members are his son Eric Ershad, cousin ‘Mukul’, and aides ‘Mukul’ and Mohammad Zahangir.

The deposed military dictator formed the trust on Sunday afternoon, Jatiya Party Presidium Member Khaled Akter and Deputy Office Secretary MA Razzak Khan told bdnews24.com.  

Quader, who holds the post of co-chairman and was declared Ershad’s successor in the party once again on Saturday, did not agree to comment on the chief’s latest move.

Senior Vice-Chairman Raushon could not be reached for comment.

Eric is Ershad’s son with his second wife Bidisha Ershad, who stays in India now but recently started frequenting Ershad’s home at Baridhara in Dhaka amid dramatic changes of decision by Ershad. 

Eric accompanies Ershad on his foreign trips.

His other son Shad Ershad was also with Ershad when he visited Singapore for treatment earlier this year.

Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad departs for Singapore, where he is to receive medical treatment. He left his home in Baridhara at 11:30 am on Sunday for the airport. Photo: Mahmud Zaman Ovi

A director of the Union Bank, Ershad declared he had over Tk 2.8 million in cash in his affidavit to the Election Commission ahead of the Dec 30 parliamentary polls.

He owns two flats worth over Tk 12.4 million in the capital’s Gulshan and Baridhara. He also has a shop worth Tk 7.7 million.

His annual income is Tk 10.7 million which he earns from salaries as the prime minister’s envoy, MP, bank director and from business, according to the affidavit.