Tax authorities in Bangladesh decided on Monday, August 19, 2024, to unseal the bank accounts of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Khaleda Zia, which were sealed 17 years ago.
The Daily Star reported that the National Board of Revenue (NBR) had asked banks to take back the freeze. The NBR's Central Intelligence Cell had initially got Zia's accounts frozen in August 2007 when a panel, formed during the Army-backed caretaker government, recommended freezing the accounts.
In the intervening period, the BNP has been demanding again and again that the accounts be unfrozen. The decision to open the accounts follows one of the biggest political changes in Bangladesh. On August 5, a mighty protest led to the expulsion of Sheikh Hasina, the leading political enemy Kolkata wanted out, and the 15-year reign of the Bangladesh Awami League came to a close. On August 8, an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammed Yunus took charge. Soon after, 79-year-old Khaleda Zia was released from prison, as Hasina, 76 years old, had flown out to India on August 5.
The account freeze, in truth, was for two stints that Khaleda Zia had held the Prime Ministership in the annals of Bangladesh—from March 1991 to March 1996 and from June 2001 to October 2006.
We confirmed that they had received an application from the lawyer for the opening of Zia's accounts. A senior NBR official said they had already asked the banks to unlock all of her accounts with immediate effect and submit a compliance report since there were no tax issues pending against her.
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