A Dhaka court on Wednesday granted bail to journalist Anis Alamgir in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Sabbir Faiz passed the order after a hearing on the matter.
According to his lawyer Taslima Jahan Poppy, there are now no legal barriers to Alamgir’s release as he has secured bail in both cases filed against him.
According to the case documents, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against Anis Alamgir on 15 January on charges of acquiring wealth beyond known sources of income and money laundering.
Later, on 25 January, the investigating officer of the case and ACC Assistant Director Akteruzzaman applied to the court to show him arrested in the case. Following the application, he was shown arrested in the case on 28 January.
The case states that information was found about assets worth Tk25 lakh in immovable property and Tk3,84,68,789 in movable property in Alamgir’s name, bringing the total value of assets to Tk4,09,68,789.
In addition, his family and other expenses were calculated at Tk15,90,000. As a result, the total value of his acquired assets stands at Tk4,25,58,789.
The investigation found that his legitimate income amounted to Tk99,09,851.
This includes Tk54,45,821 in past savings, Tk19,39,977 earned from talk shows and consultancy services, Tk22 lakh from the sale of a plot, and Tk3,24,053 from savings certificates and bank interest.
Based on these figures, assets worth Tk3,26,48,938 were found to be beyond his declared and acceptable sources of income, which accounts for about 77 per cent of his total acquired assets and has been identified as wealth beyond known sources of income.
Earlier, on 14 December, Aryan Ahmed, an organiser of the July Revolutionary Alliance, filed a case against Anis Alamgir under the Anti-Terrorism Act at Uttara West Police Station.
On 15 December, the court granted a five-day remand for the journalist in that case, and he was sent to jail on 20 December after the remand ended.
Later, on 5 March, he secured bail in the case from the High Court.
