A special court in Dhaka on Sunday acquitted senior BNP vice chairman
Tarique Rahman of the charge of siphoning money to Singapore but
sentenced co-accused Giashuddin Al Mamun to seven years in jail with
monitory penalty in the same case, prompting protests by Awami League
leaning lawyers on the court premises.
‘The prosecution could not prove the charges against accused Tarique
Rahman beyond reasonable doubt,’ said Motahar Hossain, the special court
judge-3, in the crowded courtroom in the Old Town of Dhaka amid intense
security.
The court started delivering the verdict at about 11:55am and concluded it at 12:15pm.
The Anti-Corruption Commission had filed the case with Cantonment police
station on October 26, 2009 against Tarique Rahman, also the eldest son
of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, and his business partner Giashuddin Al
Mamun on the charge of laundering money to Singapore.
Tarique has been living in London since September 2008 after he was
forced into exile by the then army-backed interim government.
As Tarique was made a fugitive during the trial, none defended him.
The court, which earlier had twice issued warrants for the arrest for Tarique, in its judgment, recalled the warrants.
The special court judge-3 in the verdict stated that it had examined the
wealth statement of Tarique submitted on June 7, 2007 and found that
the accused had not committed offence under the money laundering
prevention act using supplementary credit card and had not hid
information of the withdrawal of $50,000 to 54,000 in Singapore.
About the acquittal of one of the most influential BNP leaders, the
ACC-appointed prosecutor Mosharraf Hossain Kajal told New Age, ‘It is
not clear to us how the court considered the wealth statement of Tarique
when no counsel defended him.’
The judge, however, sentenced Tarique’s friend, businessman Mamun to
seven years in jail and fined him Tk 40 crore in the same case.
Mamun was found guilty under section 13 (2) of the money laundering
prevention act for taking $ 7.5 lakh from one Khadiza Begum for setting
up of an 80MW power plant at Tongi in 2003.
The money was allegedly taken by Mamun as bribes from Khadiza Islam,
director of Nirman Construction Ltd, for helping her win the power plant
contract.
Khadiza, however, had told the court that she had given Mamun the money as ‘consultancy fee’.
The court also confiscated Tk 20, 41, 25, 613.28 related to the money
laundering crime from Mamun for the people of Bangladesh. The money was
deposited on July 31, 2007 in favour of the government.
Mamun was seen smiling in the dock while many of his associates were seen seeking his blessing.
Hundreds of lawyers loyal to BNP greeted the verdict with cheers and
slogans on the court premises while the lawyers supporting Awami League
staged protests against the prosecutors and even the judge.
The AL-backed lawyers chased Musharraf Hossain Kajol, among others, and
also kicked the door of the courtroom in the presence of police. Kajol
said the ACC would decide the next course of action.
ACC commissioner M Sahabuddin said that the verdict had disappointed the commission.
‘The commission may appeal after receiving the full judgment,’ he said.
In his reaction, AKM Fakhrul Islam, who defended Mamun, told New Age that they would act after examining the full judgement.
The judge, Motahar Hossain, had set the date for delivery of the verdict after hearing both the sides on November 14.
The court had examined 13 prosecution witnesses, including US Federal
Bureau of Investigation agent Debra Laprovoti, and both retired and
serving government officials.
The court also examined five defence witnesses in the case but only for defending Mamun.
Tarique is currently facing four more cases, out of 17, including
charges that he had masterminded a deadly grenade attack on an Awami
league rally in Dhaka in August 2004. (source)