The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against former Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon, his sister Shahana Hanif, and one of their employees on charges of laundering Tk54 crore.
ACC Director General Akhter Hossain confirmed the development to journalists on Thursday.
According to the ACC’s case statement, Sayeed Khokon and his sister, Shahana Hanif, allegedly laundered the money through layering transactions using several bank accounts under their company, Sayeed Khokon Properties Ltd.
A total of Tk54.78 crore was transferred and transacted through seven operative accounts in three banks: City Bank PLC, EXIM Bank PLC, and Premier Bank PLC.
The ACC stated that Shahana Hanif provided misleading and false information regarding her profession, income, and identity when opening the accounts.
Her brother, Sayeed Khokon, who was a government official at the time, allegedly colluded with their company manager Raju Ahmed to move the funds and acquire illicit wealth.
The investigation found that multiple savings, SND, and FDR accounts were opened in the names of Shahana Hanif and Sayeed Khokon Properties Ltd at the Banani Lakeview branch of City Bank, and the Banani branches of EXIM Bank and Premier Bank.
Funds were repeatedly transferred among these accounts to disguise their origin, constituting money laundering.
The ACC said that through these activities, Sayeed Khokon, Shahana Hanif, and Raju Ahmed committed offenses under Sections 409, 420, and 109 of the Penal Code, Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, and Sections 4(2) and 4(3) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012.
