Dhaka: The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Sunday approved submitting a charge sheet against Mahmuda Khatun and her husband Hujjat Ullah, a manager at the Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC), in a case linked to the alleged acquisition of assets beyond known sources of income.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the case was filed with the Integrated District Office, Dhaka-1 on July 8, 2024. Mahmuda Khatun resides at Flat-201 (first floor), House-16, Road-5, Block-C, Banasree Project, Rampura, Dhaka, while their permanent address is in Betbari village under the Gopalpur upazila of Tangail district.
The case was initiated by Selina Akhter, a former director of the ACC who is currently on PRL, with ACC Deputy Assistant Director Md Rubel Hossain leading the investigation. The investigation report reveals that Mahmuda Khatun’s net assets, after excluding liabilities, total Tk 35,74,681. Additionally, she incurred family and other expenses amounting to Tk 27,34,492 from the 2004-05 to 2020-21 tax years. Thus, the total assets acquired under her name, including net assets and expenses, amount to Tk 63,09,173.
However, investigators discovered that her acceptable sources of income during this period amounted to only Tk 13,66,372. This discrepancy suggests that assets worth Tk 49,42,801 were acquired beyond her known sources of income, which the ACC stated is inconsistent with her declared earnings.
The ACC asserted that Mahmuda Khatun illegally acquired and possessed assets worth Tk 49,42,801, which is an offence punishable under Section 27(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004. The investigation further revealed that she concealed information about assets valued at Tk 8,11,600 and submitted false statements, constituting another offence under Section 26(2) of the same law.
Her husband, Hujjat Ullah, who serves as the manager (Administration) at DPDC, has also been implicated in connection with the case, according to ACC officials.