BNP Standing Committee member and Prime Minister’s Advisor Mirza Abbas has been acquitted in 15 separate corruption cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) involving the alleged embezzlement of over 12.76 billion taka through irregularities in the sale of 18 government houses.
Judge Muhammad Kamrul Hasan Khan of Dhaka Special Judge’s Court-3 delivered the verdict on Thursday (August 27).
According to court sources, the ACC filed 15 separate cases against 21 individuals, accusing them of rigging tenders and irregularities in the sale of 18 abandoned government properties. Mirza Abbas and 12 others were named defendants in each case.
Other prominent individuals named as defendants included SM Zafarullah, Md. Emdadul Islam, Mohammad Ali, Golam Nabi, Kazi Riyazul Monir, Ziauddin Ahmed, Abdu Sadek, Humayun Khan, Mir Mosharraf Hossain, Iqbal Uddin Chowdhury, and Md. Shahid Alam.
Additionally, BNP leader Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and businessman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan were named as defendants in two cases each—several others, including Mehedi Hasan, Shafiqur Rahman Kiron, Nurussafa, Md. Shukur Mia, Hasna Ahmed, and Ali Haider Chowdhury, were also tried and acquitted in the respective cases.
Background of the Cases
The ACC originally filed the cases on March 29, 2007. Following an investigation, the court framed charges against the accused on September 25 of the same year.
According to the charge sheets, irregularities and tender manipulation took place during the sale of 18 abandoned government houses located in Dhaka’s Gulshan, Dhanmondi, and Shantinagar areas. The commission alleged that the tenders were rigged through Rajuk to hand over the properties to preferred individuals, resulting in a financial loss of 127,64,19,059 taka to the state.
The prosecution claimed that Mirza Abbas, serving as the housing and public works minister at the time, abused his power and exerted undue influence to approve the sales. The ACC alleged that instead of accepting higher bids submitted by Public Works Department executive engineers, he arranged for the properties to be sold through lower bids managed by Rajuk.
The defendants faced charges under sections 409 and 109 of the Penal Code, alongside section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act of 1947.
Out of 24 scheduled witnesses, the court recorded the testimonies of 23 witnesses over the course of the trials before finally delivering the acquittal judgment.
Source: Prothom Alo
