Huge wealth of Tarique Siddique and his wife found

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has uncovered information of a huge amount of properties of Tarique Ahmed Siddique, ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s security affairs adviser, and his wife Shahid Siddique, scattered in Dhaka, Narayanganj and Gazipur.

The assets include bungalows, flats and a huge amount of land.

Stating that investigation against Tarique Ahmed Siddique and his wife is still underway, the ACC officials hope to find more properties of the couple, beneficiaries of the autocratic rule of Sheikh Hasina.

The ACC officials also said that they have not yet received any information of bank accounts’ details of Tarique Ahmed Siddique and his wife.

According to the ACC documents, this security adviser to the ousted prime minister owns two bungalows in Gazipur, a seven-storied building in Dhaka’s Gulshan, four flats and share of flat in Dhaka’s Baridhara, and one-fourth share of a seven-storey building in Gazipur.

Apart from this, Tarique Ahmed Siddique and his wife have three plots in Dhaka’s Bashundhara Residential Area and around 48 bighas of land in Gazipur and Narayanganj.

The documented price of the total properties has been mentioned as over Tk 380 million (38 crore). Local people, however, said the market price of the properties is several times higher than that of the documented price.

ACC said, following a court order, it has seized 24 bighas of land, four flats and a part of another flat as per the share. The anti-graft watch dog has taken steps to seize remaining properties as well. It has also been investigating whether Tarique Ahmed Siddique has assets abroad.

The ACC has formed a special team to investigate the allegations of irregularities, corruption, and money laundering involving the family of Sheikh Hasina. Members of this team are currently carrying out the investigation.

ACC director general (prevention) Akhtar Hossain told Prothom Alo that information has been uncovered regarding nearly Tk 1 billion (100 crore) worth of movable and immovable assets in the names of Tarique Ahmed Siddique, his wife, and their two daughters.

A letter has been sent to the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) to verify whether they have assets abroad, he added.

However, no such information has been received so far, Akhtar Hossain confirmed.

Tarique Siddique and his family members have gone into hiding since the fall of the Awami League government following the July mass uprising. It is believed that they have fled the country.

Tarique Siddique is facing multiple cases, including ones related to the killings during the July mass uprising, enforced disappearances during Sheikh Hasina’s rule, and various corruption charges.

Prothom Alo could not find any lawyers representing them in the lawsuits. As a result, neither the comments of Tarique Siddiuqe or his wife on the allegations of illegal wealth accumulation could not be obtained.

Tarique Ahmed Siddique was known to be an extremely influential figure during the tenure of Sheikh Hasina. He is the brother-in-law of Sheikh Rehana, Sheikh Hasina’s sister.

One of Tarique Siddique’s bungalows is located in the Faukal area of Gazipur town, adjacent to the Bangladesh Ordnance Factory and the Security Printing Corporation (Bangladesh) Ltd., also known as the national mint.

The property includes a duplex building, a concrete-paved ghat, a pond, and various trees and plants. Official documents state the land size as 178 decimals (approximately 5.4 bighas), though locals claim the actual size is at least four times larger. After the July uprising, the property was vandalised and set on fire.

Another of his bungalows is located in the Bangalgachh area of Gazipur and is named “Bagan Bilash”. It contains a two-storey building, a small house, a large pond in the front, and a “watchtower” overlooking nearby fields and waterbodies.

A group of people broke into the bungalow, vandalised it, and looted valuables from there on 5 August.

The name of Shafique Siddique, Tarique Siddique’s brother, is displayed on the gate. However, land office records show that the 78 decimals (approximately 2.36 bighas) of land are nutated under the name of Tarique Siddique.

Local people claim that the actual area enclosed within the property boundary is at least 10 times larger.

An analysis of the ACC documents showed that of the 48 bighas of land of Tarique Ahmed Siddiuqe and his wife, three bighas (excluding the bungalow) are located in Gazipur.

In 2022, Tarique Ahmed purchased 38 decimals of land in Nagari Union of Kaliganj Upazila in Gazipur, for a declared price of Tk 2 million (20 lakhs). Four months later, he bought another 39 decimals in the same area.

Both plots are located near Zinda Park in Kaliganj. Construction of a highway is going on beside his land.

According to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the declared prices in the deeds are significantly lower than the actual market value.

Local resident Sarwar Akand told Prothom Alo that land in the area currently sells for Tk 800,000 to 1 million per decimal. In contrast, Tarique Siddique declared a price of only Tk 53,000 per decimal.

Tarique Siddique is also accused of grabbing seven decimals of land owned by Biswas Builders.

Wishing not to be named, a company official said they reclaimed their land after the 5 August uprising by dismantling the boundary wall.

ACC sources said, Siddique’s land holdings are primarily located at the Daudpur Union of Rupganj across three different mouzas of Narayanganj. In 2023, he purchased 100 decimals of land without any structure in the Hirunal mouza, declaring a value of Tk 39 million (3 crore and 90 lakhs).

However, local people involved with selling and buying of land estimated the land to be worth at least Tk 500 million (50 crore).

According to ACC investigators, Tarique Ahmed Siddique and his wife jointly own 24 bighas of land in the Hirunal mouza, which they exchanged with a real estate company. The officials described the exchange as suspicious, noting a significant disparity between the value of the plots traded.

The ACC in January filed four corruption cases against Tarique Siddique and 18 others, on charges of embezzling Tk 8.12 billion (812 crore) from four development projects of three airports.

These include: Tk 2 billion (200 crore) embezzled from radar and surveillance procurement for Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA), Tk 2.5 billion (250 crore) embezzled from HSIA’s third terminal expansion work, Tk 2.12 billion (212 crore) misappropriated from Sylhet Osmani International Airport expansion project, Tk 1.5 billion (150 crore) embezzled from terminal and runway development work at Cox’s Bazar International Airport.

The ACC records also revealed that most of Tarique Siddique and his wife’s properties were acquired during the tenure of the Awami League government.

Speaking about this, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) executive director Iftekharuzzaman told Prothom Alo that an unhindered kleptocracy was established during the tenure of the authoritarian government.

According to him, acquisition of such a vast amount of illicit wealth is not surprising, especially if his extent of power is taken into account.

According to the TIB executive director, accountability of the accomplices alongside the people directly involved with such crimes must be ensured through proper investigations so that such corruption can be deterred in the future.