A court in Dhaka has handed three years imprisonment to Shahid Uddin Khan in a corruption case. According to our court correspondent, judge Sheikh Hafizur Rahman of the 9th Special Judge’s Court in Dhaka, Bangladesh announced the verdict on September 13, 2022 after the trial into a case lodged by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). In the judgement, the court also has imposed a fine of BDT 50,000 on the accused and another month’s imprisonment in default of payment of the fine. The court has issued a warrant of arrest against Shahid Uddin Khan.
Prosecutor Rafiqul Haque Benu represented the Anti-Corruption Commission in the case.
Talking to reporters, ACC prosecutor Mahmud Hossain Jahangir said, following the framing of charge, during the trial, court took testimony of six witnesses.
According to the ACC complaint, Shahid Uddin Khan joined the Bangladesh Armed Forces in 1983 as a first-class officer on completion of 8th BMA Long Course. He married Farzana Anjum in 1989 and the couple has three daughters namely Shehtaz Munasi Khan, Parisa Pinaz Khan and Zumana Fiza Khan.
The investigation revealed that Shahid Uddin Khan lives in the United Kingdom with his wife and children. He owns a flat in the Dhaka city’s Baridhara area in the name of his family members and two houses in London, UK, worth approximately BDT 250.50 million.
Besides, Shahid Uddin Khan and his family members have 12 bank accounts in the United Kingdom.
There are 500,000 shares worth BDT 100 per share in a company named Prachhaya Limited, in the name of his wife and daughters. They also own Bandishahi Cold Storage in Comilla worth millions of taka. They also have a business named Zumana Investments and Properties Limited in London and a bank account in Cyprus.
Shahid Uddin Khan’s brother Mohammed Ali Khan had 3.39 million Dirhams deposited in a bank in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, which was later transferred to a business named Zumana Investments and Properties Limited.
According to the information, Shahid Uddin Khan has 12 bank accounts abroad along with movable and immovable assets worth BDT 300.50 million in his name or in the name of his family members, which is unusual for a government officer.
This clearly proves, Shahid Uddin Khan and his family members have amassed wealth outside any known income source.
On August 16, 2020, ACC served a notice asking Shahid Uddin Khan to file a statement of assets. As he did not submit the statement of assets, ACC Deputy Director Jamal Uddin Ahmed filed the case on January 24, 2021. On completion of investigation a charge-sheet was submitted on November 14, 2021.
Earlier, on November 10, 2020, a court in Dhaka had sentenced Shahid Uddin Khan and his wife Farzana Anjum Khan and four others to life imprisonment in a case lodged under Arms Act.
On December 20, 2020, another Dhaka court sentenced Shahid Uddin Khan to nine years imprisonment in the income tax evasion case.
