Court to decide on graft charges against ex-NBR official Matiur on 21 July

A Dhaka court today (5 July) concluded the charge framing hearing against former National Board of Revenue (NBR) official Matiur Rahman in a graft case over allegations of acquiring assets worth more than Tk5 crore beyond his known sources of income.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Dhaka Divisional Special Judge BM Tariqul Kabir fixed 21 July for the order on the charge-framing matter.

ACC Court Inspector Md Saiful Islam confirmed the development. He said Matiur was produced before the court from prison.

Defence lawyers Anwar Zahid Bhuiyan and Md Borhan Uddin argued against framing charges, while Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam sought the framing of charges. After hearing both sides, the court fixed 21 July for its order.

The hearing had previously been scheduled for 11 May by the court of Dhaka Divisional Special Judge Begum Shamima Afroz. However, the defence sought additional time, prompting the court to defer the hearing to today.

The ACC filed two cases against Matiur and his second wife on 15 December 2024 on charges of accumulating illegal wealth and concealing asset information.

According to the case statement, Matiur allegedly acquired assets worth Tk5.28 crore beyond his known sources of income and concealed information about assets worth Tk1.27 crore.

The ACC later approved the charge sheet in the case.

Matiur was arrested by the Detective Branch (DB) of police on 14 January 2025 and has remained in custody since.

He came under widespread public attention in 2024 after a Facebook post showed a young man named Ifat – later identified as Matiur’s son – purchasing a goat worth Tk15 lakh from Sadik Agro in Mohammadpur ahead of Eid-ul-Adha.