The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has decided to send notices to the prison cells of journalist couple Shakil Ahmed and Farzana Rupa, demanding their wealth statements to investigate allegations of acquiring illegal assets.
ACC Public Relations Officer Aktarul Islam told reporters on Sunday that the previous commission had approved obtaining the wealth statements of the two journalists. Accordingly, notices had initially been dispatched to their residential addresses.
However, after learning that both journalists are currently in jail in connection with other cases, the commission decided to send the orders to submit their wealth statements through the respective jail superintendents.
The ACC mentioned that because the husband and wife are both currently in prison, the notices could not be delivered to their residential address.
According to ACC documents, Shakil Ahmed is currently detained at Kashimpur High Security Central Jail. The order for his wealth statement will be served through the Senior Jail Superintendent of that prison.
Farzana Rupa is currently held at Munshiganj District Jail, and her order will be delivered through the jail superintendent of that facility.
The allegations against journalist Shakil Ahmed state that he has acquired “a huge amount of wealth or property” in his own name or anonymously, beyond his known sources of income. Similar allegations of acquiring illegal wealth have been made against journalist Farzana Rupa.
The orders have been issued under the authority of Section 26(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004. The orders specify that action will be taken under Section 26(2) of the Act if they fail to submit their wealth statements within the designated period or if they provide false statements.
Under the directive, Shakil Ahmed, Farzana Rupa, and their dependents must submit accounts of all movable and immovable assets held in their names or anonymously within 21 working days of receiving the order.
