The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has approved a chargesheet in a case filed eight years ago against Monir Hossain, popularly known as ‘Golden Monir’, over acquiring huge amounts of wealth ‘beyond means’.
The national anti-graft agency’s spokesperson Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya on Thursday said charges of illegally gaining Tk 31.85 million were brought against Monir.
The chargesheet will ‘soon’ be submitted to the court, he added,
The report mentioned that he had provided ‘fake information’ regarding the wealth saying he was given Tk 16.1 million by different people as ‘donation’.
The watchdog ‘could not find’ any legal source of another Tk 14.98 million.
The case was filed against Monir in March 2012 with Ramna police. A notice asking for the account of his wealth was sent to him prior to this. Monir gave an account of his wealth acquired until 2009 in his submission to the ACC.
The probe into his assets was put on hold by the High Court following a writ petition.
On why it took eight years to complete the investigation, Pranab said, “The High Court had issued a suspension order. The assistant director of the commission was handed the duty of the investigation. The transfer of that official caused further delay in the investigation.”
Later, ACC Deputy Director Mosharraf Hossain was put in charge of investigation in the case and his report came in on Thursday.
“A probe is being conducted into the wealth he had acquired since 2009. Already Monir and his wife Rowshan Akter have been sent a notice to submit accounts of their wealth. The investigation found them in possession of a massive amount of wealth,” he added.
The notice was sent to the duo on Nov 21 and they must respond within 21 working days.
Monir became the talk of the town after his arrest on Nov 21 by the Rapid Action Battalion, which seized a huge amount of cash in an overnight raid on his home in Dhaka’s Merul Badda.
RAB seized Tk 19 million in cash, including Tk 900,000 in foreign currencies, four litres of illegal liquor, eight kilograms of gold ornaments, a foreign pistol and several rounds of bullet during the overnight drive that ended on Nov 21.
RAB subsequently started the cases under the narcotics, arms and Special Powers Acts after placing Monir into police custody.
The elite police unit said Monir was not a jeweller, but he had been involved in gold smuggling and later became a “mafia boss” in real estate business.
The name ‘Golden Monir’ derives from “his jewellery business”, but Bangladesh Jewellers Samity or Bajus refuses to accept him as a member of their community.
After finding five cars at Monir’s home, RAB went on to confiscate three of them due to the absence of proper documentation.
Monir also owns more than 200 plots in Badda, Nektan, Keraniganj, Uttara and Nikunja.
Monir faces another case over grabbing land using a fake RAJUK seal, reports bdnews24.com.