A Dhaka court has imposed a travel ban and ordered the blocking of national ID cards (NID) for two former lawmakers and their wives over allegations of acquiring illegal wealth and suspicious financial transactions.
The order was issued by Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Zakir Hossain Galib on Wednesday (June 25), following petitions filed by Md Zulfiqar, Deputy Assistant Director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The two former MPs are Benazir Ahmed (72), former MP of Dhaka-20 constituency, and Mrinal Kanti Das, former MP of Munshiganj-3. Their wives, Sahina Ahmed (62) and Nilima Das, have also been barred from leaving the country.
In a separate application, the ACC sought the freezing of their assets and bank accounts. The court granted all the petitions.
According to the petition against Benazir Ahmed, he is accused of accumulating illegal wealth worth Tk 18 crore and is linked to 11 suspicious bank accounts with total transactions amounting to Tk 84.42 crore. The ACC said the travel restriction and NID block were necessary to prevent the accused from fleeing.
As part of the court’s order, nearly 231 decimals of land in Dhamrai, three apartments in Dhaka's Dhanmondi and Eskaton areas, and a shop and flat in Dhamrai City Centre Tower—together worth Tk 14.80 crore—have been seized. Additionally, Tk 1.58 crore across nine of Benazir’s bank accounts has been frozen.
His wife Sahina Ahmed's nine bank accounts, holding Tk 1.20 crore, were also frozen by court order.
In the case of Mrinal Kanti Das and his wife, the ACC alleges they acquired illegal wealth worth Tk 1.45 crore. Around Tk 16.19 crore in suspicious transactions was reportedly found across 30 bank accounts linked to them.
The court ordered the seizure of a 1,785-square-foot flat in Dhanmondi and a 7.5-katha plot in Purbachal, owned by Mrinal, valued at Tk 38.44 lakh. It also froze Tk 95.27 lakh in his nine accounts at Mercantile Bank.
For Nilima Das, the court ordered the seizure of approximately 31 decimals of land and a flat built on it in Mohammadpur's Ramchandrapur area, worth Tk 32.70 lakh. Additionally, Tk 10.61 lakh in 30 of her bank accounts has been frozen.
The court’s actions are part of an intensified anti-graft crackdown targeting former political figures and their families linked to corruption during previous regimes.
MSK/
