ACC to probe former minister Abdus Sahid

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has decided to launch an inquiry against former agriculture minister Abdus Shahid on allegations of corruption, land grabbing, amassing illegal wealth and abuse of power.

The anti-graft body took the decision today (8 September), a senior ACC official told The Business Standard.

According to commission insiders, Abdus Shahid has violated government laws through abuse of power, corruption, and various irregularities. He allegedly grabbed land from the Forest Department to establish tea gardens and installed street lights and deep tube wells in those gardens at the government’s expense. 

Evidence suggests he has accumulated crores of taka in wealth, with properties registered under the names of his wife and children, including houses and apartments in multiple locations in the country as well as in Canada, ACC sources said.

Moreover, an intelligence investigation has preliminarily verified information about his substantial illegal assets, both domestically and abroad, including the purchase of a house in the “Begum Para” neighbourhood in Canada’s Toronto. 

Consequently, the commission has decided to initiate an investigation into these allegations against the former minister.

Besides, a decision has also been made to investigate former member of parliament Habibur Rahman of the Bogura-5 constituency and Maqsood, personal assistant to former agriculture minister Abdur Razzaque.

Habibur and Maqsood are accused of acquiring illegal wealth in their own names, as well as in the names of his wife and family members, through corruption and abuse of power. 

The commission has decided to launch an investigation after an intelligence report initially confirmed the existence of significant illegal assets both within the country and abroad.