A total of 832 bhoris of gold jewellery has been recovered from two lockers belonging to the ousted prime minister, Sheikh Hasina. The lockers, held at Agrani Bank, had been seized earlier. With the court’s permission, they were opened in the presence of a magistrate on Tuesday.
A senior official of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) confirmed the information.
According to the source, officials from the NBR’s Central Intelligence Cell (CIC), the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Bangladesh Bank and other relevant agencies were present when the lockers were opened.
The two lockers were located at the principal branch of Agrani Bank (formerly the Local Office Branch) in Dilkusha, Dhaka. The CIC had seized them last September on allegations that Sheikh Hasina had concealed assets and evaded tax.
A senior CIC official, speaking to Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity, said on Tuesday, “We opened the two lockers in accordance with Bangladesh Bank regulations, with the court’s permission. We found 832 bhoris of gold jewellery inside. These will now be compared against the asset declarations submitted in her income tax returns.”
A week before the seizure of the two Agrani Bank lockers, on 10 September, the CIC had seized another locker belonging to Sheikh Hasina at Pubali Bank. This was locker No. 128 at Pubali Bank’s Motijheel Corporate Branch, located at Sena Kalyan Bhaban.
Two bank accounts held by Sheikh Hasina at the same Pubali Bank branch were also frozen. One contained a fixed deposit of Tk 1.2 million (12 lakh), while the other held Tk 4.4 million (44 lakh).
The NBR is investigating allegations of tax evasion against Sheikh Hasina. Meanwhile, the ACC is conducting inquiries into allegations that Sheikh Hasina and members of her family amassed wealth through illegal means and corruption.
Following an ACC petition, the court has already ordered the freezing of bank accounts belonging to Sheikh Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, her daughter Saima Wazed Putul, her sister Sheikh Rehana, and other associated individuals.
On 17 November, the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Sheikh Hasina to death for crimes against humanity committed during the July mass uprising. The same court also ordered the confiscation of her assets.
The Awami League government was overthrown on 5 August last year in a student–public uprising. On the same day, the then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India.
The interim government subsequently initiated investigations into alleged tax evasion and corruption by Sheikh Hasina and members of her family.