HC orders freezing of Morshed Khan, his wife and son’s Hong Kong bank accounts

The High Court has ordered the freezing BNP Vice Chairperson and former foreign minister M Morshed Khan, his wife Nasreen, and son Faisal Morshed Khan’s Standard Charter Bank accounts in Hong Kong.

A High Court bench comprising Justices M Enayetur Rahim and Amir Hossain issued the order along with a rule on Sunday.

The court acted on a petition filed by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) against a lower court’s admission of a final report prepared by its investigators recommending their acquittal in a money laundering case.

The ACC is dissatisfied with the manner in which the probe had been conducted and wants the report trashed.

The High Court also issued a rule asking why the report should not be rejected and a fresh investigation ordered.

Morshed Khan, his wife and son and the state have been asked to reply within two weeks. The matter will be up for hearing again on Jun 15, when a fresh order is expected.

Case details reveal the ACC had proceeded against Khan, his wife, and son under the Money Laundering Control Act in 2103, and a final report was filed in July 2015.

The report, however, absolved the three, saying ‘no money laundering’ was involved.

The ACC lawyer said the Hong Kong police had sealed the accounts in 2008 following administrative orders. They subsequently informed the Bangladesh authorities they would be obliged to allow the reopening of the accounts in the absence of any further steps.

Under the circumstances, the ACC initiated steps to revive the case and sought the trial court’s permission for reinvestigation.

But the Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s Court dismissed both petitions.

The ACC then appealed to the High Court against the lower court’s judgement, leading to Sunday’s hearing.

Lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan, who argued for the ACC, told bdnews24.com, “The accounts of the three in Hong Kong will remain frozen for ten days. To my knowledge, this is the first time the High Court has given an order to freeze any bank account held in a foreign country.”

He said the court had wanted to know if it could direct such freezing. “I showed that the law provided for the court to seal any property held here or abroad in connection with money laundering.”