A Dhaka court on Monday asked Tarique Rahman, the eldest son of Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia, to appear on August 8 in a money laundering case.
Dhaka special judge Mohammad Mozammel Hossain passed the order and said that the court would frame charges against Tarique, also senior vice-chairman of BNP, in his absence should he fail to appear on August 8.
The court deferred the hearing in charge framing in the case for the fourth time.
The court passed the order after hearing a plea from the counsels for Tarique and his business
partner Giasuddin Al Mamun, another accused in the case.
The defence counsels appealed to the court that the hearing needed to be deferred as they were preparing to file a petition with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court against a High Court order rejecting Tarique’s plea against the trial proceedings of the case.
The High Court on July 12 dismissed the petition of Tarique, who is staying in London, as it was not pressed by his counsels.
The Dhaka senior special judge’s court on May 5 took cognisance of the charges pressed by the Anti-Corruption Commission against Tarique and Mamun.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on June 2 dismissed a petition filed by Tarique seeking review of its February 9 verdict that had ruled for his trial under the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2002 instead of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2009 that repealed the 2002 act.
Anti-Corruption Commission assistant director Mohammad Ibrahim filed the case with Dhaka Cantonment police station on October 26, 2009 accusing Tarique and Mamun of siphoning Tk 204 million to Singapore between 2003 and 2007 in violation of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2009.
On July 6, 2010, Ibrahim submitted charge sheet against Tarique and Mamun showing 18 people as prosecution witnesses.
This was the first case filed against Tarique after the Awami League-led alliance had assumed office on January 6, 2009.
The commission had pressed the charges a few days after Tarique reportedly had a meeting behind closed doors in London with BNP leaders staying in European countries.
Tarique, arrested by the army-led joint forces on March 7, 2007 and sued in at least 12 cases during the immediate-past military-controlled interim government, was released from prison cell at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital on September 3, 2008 on bail granted by the High Court in all the 12 cases.
He then went to London for medical treatment. He is still undergoing treatment in London.
Mamun is now behind bars, facing a raft of corruption charges.
Khaleda’s youngest son Arafat Rahman was jailed for six years and fined Tk 190.41 million on June 23 for siphoning off SGD 2,884,000 and USD 932,000 to Singapore.
-With New Age input
