Court orders to seize Sheikh family's properties

A Dhaka court has ordered to seize several properties owned by members of Sheikh family, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s relatives, in response to an Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) petition.

Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Zakir Hossain Galib issued the order on Wednesday, April 30, following an application by ACC Deputy Director Monirul Islam. The move comes amid an ongoing probe into alleged illegal accumulation of wealth.

Among the seized assets are a plot in Dhaka’s Baridhara worth Tk 4.98 crore under the name of Saima Wazed Putul, daughter of Sheikh Hasina; 87.7 decimals of land in Khulna’s Digholia under the names of Sheikh Rehana (Hasina’s sister), Sajeeb Wazed Joy and Saima Wazed, valued at Tk 61.87 lakh; and 19 decimals in Tungipara, Gopalganj in Sheikh Rehana’s name, valued at Tk 20.5 lakh. Another 87.7 decimals in Digholia under the names of Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby and Azmira Siddiq were also seized.

The ACC argued that the seizure was necessary to prevent the transfer or sale of these assets during the investigation.

On Tuesday, the same court ordered the seizure of a Gulshan flat belonging to Saima Wazed and had previously frozen Tk 48.35 crore across 14 bank accounts of her NGO, Shuchona Foundation. In total, over Tk 1,065 crore linked to Sheikh family members has been frozen by court order.

MAL/SH