Dhaka:The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a charge sheet against Saima Wazed, the daughter of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, for allegedly providing false information in her application for the Regional Director position at the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the ACC's Secretary, Md. Saidur Rahman Khan, revealed this during a media briefing at the commission's headquarters. The ACC's investigation found that Saima Wazed included false claims in her application to the WHO, stating she had served as an "Honorary Specialist/Expert" at Bangladesh Medical University (BMU).
The investigation indicated that this information was allegedly used by Saima Wazed to secure the position of WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, while she was also the Chairperson of the National Advisory Committee on Autism and Neuro-developmental Disorders and the Shuchona Foundation. It was reported that undue pressure was applied to have the relevant documents sent through the foreign ministry without proper verification.
These documents were subsequently forwarded to the WHO headquarters in Geneva via the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the United Nations. The ACC described these actions as an abuse of power and criminal misconduct, which they claim damaged the nation's reputation.
A case was initially filed on March 20 of last year at the ACC's Dhaka-1 Integrated District Office, with Tahasin Munabil Haque, Deputy Director of the Money Laundering-1 unit, leading the investigation. The charges include sections 420, 468, and 471 of the Penal Code, along with section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, and section 409 of the Penal Code. Based on these findings, the ACC is moving forward with the charge sheet against Saima Wazed.