832 bhori of gold not owned by Sheikh Hasina alone: ACC

The 832 bhori (9,707.16 grams) of gold found in two lockers at Agrani Bank does not belong solely to deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. A review of documents shows that the gold was deposited under the names of Sheikh Hasina as well as her sister Sheikh Rehana, her daughter Saima Wazed, and other family members. Alongside gold ornaments, the items include gold boat and deer figurines.

Akhtar Hossain, Director General of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), disclosed this information today, Wednesday, at a press briefing at the ACC headquarters in Segunbagicha. He said the ACC has begun examining whether the gold held under the names of Sheikh Hasina and her family members is legally owned or not.

Yesterday, 832 bhori of gold was recovered after opening two lockers registered under Sheikh Hasina’s name at the Motijheel principal branch of Agrani Bank. Amid ongoing discussions about this, ACC DG Akhtar Hossain spoke today about the corruption investigation involving Sheikh Hasina.

According to the briefing, in the asset declaration Sheikh Hasina submitted in 2007, she stated that she had one locker at Pubali Bank and two lockers at Agrani Bank. As part of the verification process, the ACC investigating officer Md Masudur Rahman filed a petition in court on 14 September to open the lockers. The Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s Court ordered that the three lockers be opened in the presence of a judicial magistrate, supervising investigators, a gold expert nominated by Bangladesh Bank, two officials nominated by the NBR’s tax intelligence and CIC (Central Intelligence Cell), and officials from the respective bank branches.

Following this order, on Tuesday the three lockers were opened and an inventory of the items was prepared and placed under the custody of the branch manager.

The ACC further said that after reviewing documents stored in the bank vault, a total of 832 bhori of gold was recovered under the names of Sheikh Hasina, her daughter Saima Wazed, and her sister Sheikh Rehana. Among these, one locker at Agrani Bank’s principal branch contained 5,923.60 grams of gold ornaments. Another locker at the same bank, under the names of Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, contained 4,783.56 grams of gold ornaments. A locker under Sheikh Hasina’s name at Pubali Bank’s Motijheel branch contained only an empty small jute bag.

ACC DG Akhtar Hossain said, “Based on the notes found inside the lockers, it appears that the gold ornaments belong to Sheikh Hasina and her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, her daughter Saima Wazed Putul, and Sheikh Hasina’s sister Sheikh Rehana Siddiqui, as well as her son Bobby (Radwan Mujib).”