Staff Correspondent
The government will unlock within one week 298 bank accounts of politicians, businessmen and government high officials frozen by the caretaker government in connection with their corruption and irregularities.
“The account-holders will be able to start drawing cheques and financial transactions through these accounts after a week the” after a meeting with visiting Asian Development Bank (ADB) Vice-President Xiaoyu Zhao , Finance Minister AMA Muhith told journalists.
Showing reasons for opening frozen accounts, he said that these accounts were frozen during state of emergency. “As state of emergency is not operative in the country right now, the frozen accounts will be unlocked” he added.
However, the finance minister ruled out possibility of returning confiscated money to their owners as those siphoned off money was recovered from abroad and already been deposited to public exchequer. He clarified “It is out of question to return the money as it has become government property now.”
He gave an intimation that cases against owners of these accounts will be disposed of through legal procedure. “Legal procedure against them will continue as law should take its own course,” he said.
Replying to a query as to how government will spend Tk 1200 crore retrieved money, he said this money becomes public property as it has been deposited to government account and the government will resort to legal battle if owners of this money go to court for getting back their siphoned of money.
The caretaker government led by Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed froze these bank accounts in its purge against corruption in high places and recovered Tk 1200 crore siphoned off money from abroad.
Courtesy: thebangladeshtoday.com
