Court orders seizure of former IDRA chairman, wife’s tax files

A Dhaka court today (31 March) ordered the seizure of tax files of M Mosharraf Hossain, former chairman of the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), and his wife Jannatul Mawa.

Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Sabbir Faiz passed the order, following separate petitions filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

The court also ordered the seizure of tax records of Abdur Rashid Sikder, general secretary of Louhajang Upazila Awami League, in a separate application.

One petition stated that a case was filed against M Mosharraf Hossain and his wife Jannatul Mawa under Section 27(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, on charges of acquiring assets worth Tk1.36 crore beyond known sources of income.

The case is currently under investigation.

In a separate application, it was stated that a case was filed against Jannatul Mawa under Section 27(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, and Section 109 of the Penal Code on charges of acquiring and assisting in acquiring assets worth Tk13.38 crore beyond known sources of income.

Another petition stated that a case was filed against Abdur Rashid Sikder under Section 27(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, on charges of acquiring assets worth Tk7.02 crore beyond known sources of income.

The case is also under investigation.

For the sake of a fair investigation, it was necessary to seize and review the income tax records submitted by the accused up to the 2022–23 tax year, while in the case of Abdur Rashid Sikder, records from the beginning up to the 2021–22 tax year will be examined, in accordance with Section 19 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, and Rule 20 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Rules, 2007, according to the petitions.