The High Court has said that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) can scrutinise the allegations against purchasing of 14 houses by Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) Managing Director Taqsem A Khan in the US.
The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the observation on Monday following a request placed by the ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan regarding the issue.
Mr Khushid Alam Khan made the request to the HC bench by submitting a newspaper report published in the Bangla daily Samakal on January 9 this year on the allegations.
The court said the ACC may submit the progress about the issue to this court by 15 days.
Khushid Alam Khan requested the HC bench to issue a Suo Muto (voluntary) rule over the issue. However, the HC bench said, “We don't see any need to issue a rule. According to the published report, two persons have made complaints to the ACC. The ACC can scrutinise the allegations, as the allegations were placed to it.”
At one stage the ACC lawyer said that they will inform the progress of the issue to the court within 15 days. Then the court said, “You can inform the court if you think necessary.”
According to the published report, "Neither one nor two, there are 14 houses! Not in the country, but far away in the United States. Dhaka Wasa Managing Director (MD) Engineer Taqsem A Khan bought these houses in several cities in the United States. All houses will cost thousands of crores of taka in Bangladeshi currency."
“It has been alleged that he became the owner of these houses by laundering money from the country. Several intelligence agencies including Interpol have started searching for the source of the money to buy these houses and the information about the transaction process. Taqsem's name has also been included in the country's intelligence list as a suspect in the matter of purchasing houses with huge sums of money,” also read the report.
Two complaints regarding the purchase of 14 houses in the United States and the inclusion of Taqsem's name in the list of international intelligence agencies as a money launderer have been placed in the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) recently, said the report.
