ACC seizes 23 sacks of documents in raid to trace ex-minister Saifuzzaman’s overseas assets
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has seized 23 sacks of documents from the house of the driver of former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury’s wife, Rukhmila Zaman, in Chattogram’s Karnaphuli upazila. The raid was part of the ongoing investigation into allegations that Saifuzzaman amassed assets abroad and misappropriated funds in the guise of loans.
The raid was conducted from 2:00 am on Saturday night until 5:00 am Sunday morning at the Talukdar Bari in the Fakira Mosque area of Shikalbaha union under Karnaphuli upazila.
According to ACC sources, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury is under investigation for money laundering and acquiring property abroad. ACC has already filed six cases accusing him of embezzling Tk 1.24 billion. Last Wednesday, the commission also filed a new case against Saifuzzaman, his wife, and eight others, on charges of accumulating illegal wealth, bribery transactions, and money laundering.
Following the case, ACC officials launched an operation in Chattogram city’s Double Mooring area Wednesday night, arresting two close associates of the former land minister—Utpal Pal and Abdul Aziz. They are currently on a five-day remand. Based on information extracted during interrogation, the ACC conducted the raid at the house of Rukhmila Zaman’s driver, Elias Talukdar, where the sacks of documents were seized.
ACC officials involved in the raid said that a similar operation had been carried out at Elias’s house on Friday night. However, before the raid, Elias had shifted the documents from his room to an adjacent one. This was later revealed after the ACC analysed CCTV footage, which prompted the second raid that led to the seizure.
Subel Ahmed, Deputy Director of the ACC’s Chattogram office, told Prothom Alo that a team from Dhaka is examining the seized documents. We will be able to confirm the nature of the documents after scrutiny, he said.
ACC Deputy Director in Dhaka, Mashiur Rahman, said, “We recovered 23 sacks of documents from the house of Rukhmila Zaman Chowdhury’s driver, Elias Talukdar. These will be reviewed, and legal steps will follow accordingly.”
Mashiur added, “Previously, we had information about Saifuzzaman owning homes in four countries. Now we have learned of properties in five more countries. We will examine whether any documents related to these properties are among the seized papers.”
On 7 October last year, the court imposed a travel ban on Saifuzzaman and his wife Rukhmila Zaman. Allegations against him include laundering thousands of crores of taka to the United Kingdom and illegally amassing assets through corruption and irregularities. According to the ACC, Saifuzzaman laundered money abroad and purchased 350 houses in the UK under his own and his family members’ names. In addition, he has amassed significant illegal assets within Bangladesh.
Saifuzzaman fled the country on 5 August last year, following the ouster of the Awami League government. On Thursday, the ACC applied to the Chattogram court for the issuance of a Red Notice against him and his wife. The court has kept the application pending for an order today, Sunday.