Former Additional IGP Shamsuddoha, Photo: Collected.
Special Correspondent//

In 2018, the ACC began investigating allegations of illegal wealth acquisition by former Additional IGP Shamsuddoha and his wife. After the investigation, a case was filed in 2019 after finding the truth of the allegations of acquiring assets outside the known income.

The ‘criminal’ income of former Additional Inspector General of Police (IGP) Shamsuddoha Khandkar and his wife Ferdousi Sultana Khandkar is Tk 62 crore. His wife’s income from crime is more than Shamsuddoha’s, amounting to Tk 41 crore. Shamsuddohar’s proceeds of crime is Tk 21 crore.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Tuesday filed a charge sheet against the duo in court on charges of acquiring assets outside of known income and money laundering. It shows this picture of proceeds of crime. It is also said that both of them have accumulated a huge amount of money in the bank. More than 41 crore rupees have been deposited as wife’s bank.

In 2018, the ACC began investigating allegations of illegal wealth acquisition by police officer Shamsuddoha and his wife. ACC filed a case against them in 2019 after finding the truth of the allegation of acquiring wealth outside of known income. After five years of investigation, two separate charge sheets were submitted against the two in the court of the senior special judge of Dhaka city on Tuesday.

Shamsuddoha denied the allegations of acquiring illegal wealth and said on the phone on Tuesday night that the ACC case is under trial in the court. He is on bail. They are dealing with the matter legally. Misinformation is going on against them.

However, the ACC said in the charge sheet that Shamsuddoha resorted to corruption by abusing his power while he was a government official. He premeditated to legitimize the illegal income earned through corruption. Much more money than his own salary and allowances is deposited in various bank accounts opened in the name of his wife Ferdowsi Sultana. His wife is a housewife. The amount of money deposited as wife’s bank account is 41 crore 29 lakh more than his salary. And 21 crore 5 lakh taka is deposited as shamsuddohar bank.

ACC has traced the huge wealth of former IGP of Police Benazir Ahmed and his family. Those assets have been seized by court order. In the meantime, the charge sheet has been given against the former Additional IGP Shamsuddoha.

He was the chairman of BIWTA.

Shamsuddoha joined the police force in 1986 as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP). He was promoted as Additional IGP in 2011. He was appointed as the Chairman of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) by the government in 2011. After assuming office, he was accused of unlimited irregularities, corruption and arbitrariness. Then in 2015, he was removed from the post of chairman of BIWTA. He retired from the police force on 3 March 2016.

ACC has received information about Tk 29 crore deposited in three banks of Shamsuddoha. Two months before retirement (December 30, 2015), Shamsuddoha opened an account in a private bank in Dhaka. As of April 28, 2022, about 14 crores and 14 lakhs have been deposited into that account.

According to the ACC, a loan of Tk 7.9 million was taken from the Nawabganj branch of a bank in the name of Organic Agro Farms, a company jointly owned by Shamsuddoha and his wife. 1 crore 3 million taka was spent on the infrastructure of the institution. The rest of the money is transferred to his wife’s bank account.

ACC informed the court that there is no organization named Organic Agro Farms. They said that from 2012 to 2022, Shamsuddohar Bank’s transaction amount excluding loan amount is slightly more than 21 crore rupees. According to the ACC chargesheet, these transactions are not commensurate with his salary and allowances as a public servant. He did not submit any evidence to the ACC as to the source of the money for this transaction as a bank.
Meanwhile, Shamsuddoha has been occupying a government house on Road No. 135 in Gulshan, Dhaka for a long time. The government housing department issued a notice to him on May 15 to vacate the house within seven days. But housing department sources say, he did not leave the house.

41 crores as wife-

According to the ACC charge sheet, Shamsuddoha’s wife Ferdausi Sultana has no source of income. However, evidence of 41 crore 29 lakh taka has been found in his six banks. A private bank account was opened in his name on November 29, 2012. Till April 25, 2022, the amount of money deposited in that account alone is about 35 crore 28 lakh taka.

It is said in the charge sheet that the accounts mentioned by Ferdowsi Sultana in the income tax documents from 2012-13 to 2019-20 are not acceptable.

Four children of Shamsuddoha and Ferdausi. ACC says that they have taught the children in English medium school. Three have taught in UK, USA and Canada. The wealth that Shamsuddoha and his wife have acquired by paying for their children’s education and household expenses is beyond known income.

Ferdowsi cited her husband’s overseas jobs, her own three-year job in the UK, income from agricultural farms and businesses and her mother’s donation, sale of land and flats as sources of wealth in her asset declaration submitted to the ACC. However, the ACC told the court that Ferdowsi did not submit the evidence in favor of these sources. Evidence was not received from Shamsuddoha either.

The ACC told the court that Shamsuddoha and Ferdowsi were served notices of detention for submitting the affidavits. They did not give any statement and did not submit any documents. According to the chargesheet, Ferdowsi’s unusual transactions as a bank were observed to be ill-gotten gains of her husband Shamsuddoha.

ACC Public Prosecutor (PP) Mir Ahmed Ali Salam told the media that the case of a former additional IGP-rank government servant and his wife dealing in huge sums of money as a bank is unusual. ACC has submitted evidence to the court to prove the charges.