ACC seeks to show Masud Uddin arrested in graft case

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has applied to the court to show retired Lieutenant General Masud Uddin Chowdhury, a controversial military personnel for his role during the 1/11 period and former member of parliament from Feni-3, arrested.

The ACC made the appeal in a corruption case involving the alleged embezzlement of Tk 119 crore (1.19 billion) through the recruitment of workers to Malaysia.

The application was filed by the investigation officer (IO), ACC Assistant Director Md Abul Kalam Azad, on Wednesday.

Acting judge of the Dhaka Senior Special Judge’s Court, Moinuddin Chowdhury, has set 9 April for a hearing on the application in the presence of the accused. ACC prosecutor Delwar Jahan Rumi confirmed the matter.

Earlier, on Tuesday, Masud Uddin Chowdhury was shown arrested in a human trafficking case filed with Paltan police station in the capital. Following a police appeal, the court granted a five-day remand in that case.

A team of the Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested Masud Uddin Chowdhury from his residence in Baridhara DOHS late Monday night.

In its submission to the court, the ACC stated that apart from the fixed fee, the accused had collected an additional Tk 119 crores from 7,124 individuals in the process of sending them to Malaysia. A case has been filed against him under the ACC Act.

The ACC further argued that, if granted bail, the accused may obstruct the investigation, and therefore it is necessary to show him arrested in this case in the interest of a fair probe.