Pirojpur: The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has initiated legal proceedings against former Bhandaria Upazila Parishad Chairman Mirajul Islam and his wife, Shamima Akhter, on charges of amassing wealth disproportionate to their known income sources and engaging in money laundering activities. The cases were lodged at the ACC Integrated District Office in Pirojpur.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the complaints were filed by ACC Assistant Director Mohammad Monirul Islam, with the investigations being overseen by Deputy Director Md Aminul Islam. The ACC reports that Mirajul Islam, aged 48, who also owns several business entities including Ifti ETCL (Pvt) Ltd, Ifti Enterprise, and South Bangla Trade International, is implicated in acquiring approximately Tk 87 crore in immovable properties such as land, residences, flats, and shops. Additionally, his movable assets, which include bank savings, business capital, company shares, and nine vehicles, are valued at Tk 50 crore 61 lakh. In total, his assets, including family expenditures, amount to Tk 116 crore 83 lakh, significantly exceeding his acceptable income of Tk 17 crore 71 lakh.
The ACC has accused Mirajul Islam of illegally acquiring assets worth Tk 99 crore 13 lakh beyond his known sources of income, which contravenes Section 27(1) of the ACC Act, 2004. Furthermore, he is alleged to have misappropriated government funds, with illicit proceeds totaling Tk 2691 crore being deposited across accounts in nine banks. Of this, Tk 26,79 crore was reportedly transferred, converted, and layered through various bank branches to obscure the origins of the funds, constituting money laundering offenses under Sections 4(2) and 4(3) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012.
In a separate case, Shamima Akhter, proprietor of Mess’s Shimu Enterprise and a licensed contractor participating in Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) tenders, is accused of similar offenses. The ACC claims she received work orders but failed to execute the projects, instead embezzling government funds. Her acquired immovable assets total Tk 32 crore, inclusive of family expenditures, against an acceptable income of Tk 7 crore 9 lakh. She is alleged to have amassed assets worth Tk 24 crore beyond her known income sources, also punishable under Section 27(1) of the ACC Act, 2004.
Moreover, the ACC’s analysis of Shamima’s Brac Bank account revealed deposits of Tk 122 crore 75 lakh, believed to be illicit proceeds. Out of this, Tk 122 crore 39 lakh was transferred, converted, and layered via banking channels to disguise the illegal source, constituting offenses under Sections 4(2) and 4(3) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012.
The ACC has previously filed eight additional cases against the couple related to allegations of embezzling nearly Tk 1000 crore by accepting work orders from LGED under contractor firms and misappropriating funds without executing development projects. These cases are still under investigation.