Bangladesh files graft cases against ousted leader’s family
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Ms Sheikh Hasina fled a revolution in August 2024 to neighbouring India, where she has defied extradition requests from Bangladesh.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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DHAKA - Bangladesh’s anti-graft commission has filed cases against ousted leader Sheikh Hasina and her family, including a British government minister and a senior UN official, its chief said on Jan 13.
Ms Hasina, 77, fled a revolution in August 2024 to neighbouring India,
The cases are linked to an alleged large-scale land grab of lucrative plots in a suburb of the densely populated capital Dhaka.
“Sheikh Hasina, in collaboration with some officials, allocated plots for herself and her family members,” Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) director-general Akhter Hossain told reporters.
Mr Hossain said those named in the case also include Ms Hasina’s niece, British anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq. She has insisted she has done nothing wrong.
Ms Hasina’s daughter, Ms Saima Wazed, the World Health Organisation’s South-east Asia chief, is also listed. There was no immediate response from Ms Wazed.
“The ACC investigation team has obtained the necessary documents and found sufficient evidence to file the cases,” Mr Hossain told AFP.
“They will include relevant details, such as property acquisitions while conducting further investigations.”
Ms Hasina’s son, Mr Sajeeb Wazed Joy, is also named, as well as Ms Hasina’s sister, Ms Sheikh Rehana – Ms Siddiq’s mother.
Ms Siddiq referred herself in January to the standards adviser of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The referral came after British newspapers the Sunday Times and Financial Times reported that she had lived in properties linked to Ms Hasina’s administration.
Bangladesh’s anti-corruption commission also launched a probe in December 2024 into the alleged embezzlement by Ms Hasina’s family of US$5 billion (S$6.9 billion) connected to a Russian-funded nuclear power plant.
The kickback allegations relate to the $12.65 billion Rooppur nuclear plant, which was bankrolled by Moscow with a 90 per cent loan. AFP
