Ex-law minister Anisul Huq shown arrested in extortion, money laundering case

Bangla Press Desk:  A Dhaka court on Monday ordered that former law minister Anisul Huq and his personal secretary Md Rashidul Kawser Bhuiyan Jibon be shown arrested in a case filed over allegations of extorting nearly Tk25 crore and laundering the money.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Ehsanul Islam passed the order following a petition filed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).Earlier on 20 February, the investigation officer of the case, CID Inspector Md Ashraful Islam, submitted an application seeking to show the accused arrested in the case.

The court later fixed Monday for passing the order in the presence of the accused.

According to the petition, the CID’s Financial Crime Unit found that the accused formed an organised criminal syndicate and systematically amassed large sums of illegal money through extortion over a long period.The syndicate allegedly amassed Tk10 lakh every month as extortion from various individuals and institutions through the Gulshan branch of the National Bank of Pakistan.

It was found that accused Md Kamruzzaman joined the National Bank of Pakistan as managing director in 2015 and, after assuming office, regularly transferred money to the personal bank account of Taufika Karim through a nominal legal consultancy agreement with her law firm, Sirajul Huq Associates.

The syndicate allegedly collected Tk10.80 crore from the National Bank of Pakistan alone until 5 August 2024, before going into hiding.

The inquiry also found that nearly Tk10.6 crore was collected from various individuals and institutions and deposited into Taufika Karim’s personal bank account.

The case alleged that Anisul appointed his close associates Taufika and Jibon as his personal secretaries after becoming a minister and also established an NGO titled “Legal Assistance to Helpless Prisoner and Persons."

The group allegedly collected extortion money regularly from different individuals and institutions through an account operated in the name of the NGO at Sonali Bank PLC’s Supreme Court branch.

According to investigators, a total of Tk24.53 crore was collected through the NGO between 11 March 2015 and 30 June 2024.Source: daily Sun

BP/SP