ACC to File Tk 4.48b Embezzlement Case Against Putul, 34 Others

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is set to file a case against Saima Wazed Putul, daughter of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, along with 34 others over the alleged embezzlement of Tk 4.48 billion.

The accused are said to have misused the Suchona Foundation, a registered organisation, to collect “donations” as bribes from individuals and institutions. Instead of funding welfare for disabled people as claimed, the money was allegedly misappropriated.

ACC Director General (Prevention) Md Akhter Hossain confirmed the approval of the case. The investigation into the foundation began after August 5 last year. In November, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit froze its bank accounts, and in February, the National Board of Revenue revoked its tax exemption. By January 2025, the ACC raided the foundation’s office and declared it non-existent.

Earlier, in March, Putul and two others were charged in a separate case over Tk 330 million allegedly embezzled from the same foundation.

Accused trustees include Saima Wazed (Putul), Prof Dr Mazharul Mannan, MP Nazmul Hassan Papon, Saifullah Abdullah Solenkhi, Zann Bari Rizvi, Prof Dr Pran Gopal Datta, Mehraj Jahan, Prof Dr Ruhul Haque, Shirin Jaman Munir, and Dr Helaluddin Ahmed.

Among the accused businessmen are Intekabul Hamid, Nurul Islam BSc, Salman F Rahman, Md Aziz Khan, AKM Rahmatullah, Moinuddin Hasan Rashid, Mostafa Kamal, and Enayetur Rahman. Former and current NBR officials, including Md Nojibur Rahman, Mir Mustaq Ali, Chowdhury Amir Hossain, and others, are also implicated.

According to the ACC, the accused abused their positions by granting illegal tax waivers. Between FY2016 and FY2025, the foundation allegedly evaded Tk 99 million in taxes and embezzled Tk 4.479 billion, with suspicious transactions of Tk 9.3 billion recorded across 14 bank accounts.

In July, the World Health Organisation placed Saima Wazed Putul on leave from her post as Director of its South-East Asia Regional Office.