On Wednesday, Dhaka court directed the confiscation of properties belonging to five relatives of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, including her sister Sheikh Rehana and her children.
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Zakir Hossain Galib issued the directive after a petition presented by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Among those seized is a house in the Baridhara neighborhood of the capital worth Tk4.98 crore and in Saima Wazed Putul's name. Again, in Khulna's Digholia, 87.70 decimals of land—amounting to Tk61.87 lakh—are owned jointly by Sheikh Rehana, Saima Wazed Putul, and Hasina's son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy.
Another land measuring 87.70 decimals in the same location worth Tk41.24 lakh is registered in the names of Rehana's sons, Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby and Azmina Siddiq Rupanti. Rehana also has a 19-decimal land at Gopalganj's Tungipara worth Tk20.50 lakh.
This was disclosed by ACC spokesperson Akhtarul Islam.
Earlier, on April 29, the same court had ordered seizure of a Gulshan flat of Putul worth Tk57 lakh. Sudha Sadan—Hasina's Dhanmondi family house—was also ordered to be seized on March 11. Both Joy and Putul own the property jointly.
The court also ordered the confiscation of other assets, including some houses and eight flats of Sheikh Rehana, Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby, and Tulip Rizwana Siddiq. The combined value of these properties is worth an estimated Tk8.52 crore.
Meanwhile, on April 9, a court froze Hasina, Rehana, Joy, Putul, and other persons connected with them' Tk16.12 crore worth of bank accounts. This came following a previous ruling by a court on March 4, to freeze 14 bank accounts related to Putul's organization, the Shuchona Foundation. In total, 124 bank accounts belonging to Hasina and her accomplices were frozen.
These actions have caused political indignation. The majority of Awami League sympathizers and also political analysts state that the interim government led by Nobel peace prize laureate Muhammad Yunus is waging a smear campaign to bring shame to Hasina and her family.
Yunus himself is now in legal trouble, having been indicted along with 13 others for the supposed embezzlement of more than USD two million from Grameen Telecom, a company which he founded. The ACC charged that Yunus improperly diverted company funds to the workers' welfare fund.
Adding to the drama, Hasina's Gulshan residence was reportedly burgled, with no police report filed in connection with the crime. She has directly accused Yunus's interim government of urging violent mobs to go after Awami League activists.
Of particular interest, British-Bangladeshi Labour Party MP for Hampstead and Highgate Tulip Rizwana Siddiq resigned last month in January following mention in the ACC's ongoing corruption probe.
Hasina has gone public against Yunus, referring to him as an "usurper" and stating that he has no constitutional authority or public mandate to govern the country. She also alleged that he reached power through a "meticulously designed plan" sponsored by foreign interests, playing on the sentiments of ordinary people and students.
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