A Chattogram court has sentenced a man to five years in prison for acquiring assets beyond his known sources of income.
Judge Md Mizanur Rahman of the Chattogram Divisional Special Judge’s Court delivered the verdict on Tuesday.
The court also fined Anisur Rahman alias Yahya Tk12.55 crore. He will face an additional year in jail if he fails to pay the fine.
However, the court issued an arrest warrant as Anisur was absent when the judgment was pronounced.
Public Prosecutor Md Rezaul Karim Roni, representing the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), said the case was filed under Section 27(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004.
Anisur, of Cox’s Bazar, has been living in the Khulshi Residential Area of Chattogram city.
The ACC investigation found that Anisur purchased a flat in Dhaka’s Baridhara area for Tk35.85 lakh but concealed the purchase from the income tax department as he had no legitimate source of income to account for it.
He also purchased the office building of a local newspaper in Cox’s Bazar Sadar for Tk17 lakh, leased the Naf View Filling Station in Teknaf for Tk15 lakh, and bought a gun for Tk65,000 and a pistol for Tk100,000. In addition, he purchased properties worth a total of Tk1.28 crore in Gazipur, Dhaka, Shah Porir Dwip in Teknaf, Naikhongchhari in Bandarban, and Khulshi and Pahartali in Chattogram.
According to measurements by engineers from the Public Works Department, he purchased a four-storey building on Road No. 1 in the Khulshi Residential Area for Tk35,976,562. However, he declared the purchase price as Tk19,365,000 in his income tax records.
The actual investment in these non-agricultural properties totalled Tk13,20,06,353, while tax records declared only Tk1,93,65,000, leaving Tk11,26,41,353 undisclosed. The ACC established that Anisur had acquired illegal assets worth Tk12,55,01,353.
The case was filed at Khulshi Police Station on 19 November 2008 by Jahangir Alam, former assistant director of the ACC Integrated District Office, Chattogram-2. Former ACC Assistant Director Sheikh Abdus Salam submitted the charge sheet on 5 July 2009. The court framed charges and began the trial on 14 March 2018.
During the trial, the prosecution presented 13 witnesses, along with engineering reports, registry office records and original tax files.
In his defence, Anisur claimed that the buildings in Lalkhan Bazar and Khulshi belonged to Shahpuri Holding Limited and that the Baridhara flat belonged to his son. The court found that he had failed to provide acceptable documentary evidence to support his claims.
The court ruled that declaring previously concealed wealth in tax returns at a later date did not establish its lawful origin. Finding the allegations proven beyond reasonable doubt, it convicted Anisur and imposed the sentence and fine.
