The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Thursday sent a letter to the Election Commission (EC) recommending legal action under the Representation of the People Order (RPO), 1972, against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for allegedly submitting false information in her affidavit during the 2008 general election.
ACC Chairman Mohammad Moinuddin Abdullah disclosed this at a press conference held at the ACC headquarters on Thursday.
He said there are two parts to this issue. One has been referred to the Election Commission for necessary action and the other concerns discrepancies between the wealth statement submitted to the ACC.
"The one submitted to the EC, based on which the ACC will initiate its own legal proceedings the process will take time," he also said.
Responding to a question, the ACC chairman said the commission's schedule does not include political agendas. “What one submits to the EC and what one declares to the ACC must be consistent. Politics has no place here. In my six months at the ACC, I have not faced political pressure.”
Abdullah said Sheikh Hasina had submitted a wealth statement to the ACC during an investigation in 2007. That was compared with the affidavit she filed with the Election Commission on November 19, 2008, before the 9th parliamentary elections.
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The review found that Sheikh Hasina had declared 6.50 acres of agricultural land in her affidavit with a stated value of Tk 1.75 lakh. However, ACC records show she owned 28.411 acres of land at the time, purchased at a cost of Tk 33.66 lakh. As such, 21.91 acres of land were undeclared, and the value of her declared property was understated by Tk 31.91 lakh.
The ACC chairman further alleged that Sheikh Hasina used the duty-free quota of then-MP Prof Dr Mohammad Sirajul Akbar from Magura-1 constituency to import a Mercedes-Benz car worth €230,000 (equivalent to Tk 1.93 crore). The vehicle was registered under her residential address at Sudha Sadan, Dhanmondi, Dhaka (Reg No: Dhaka Metro-Gha-11-6364), and used personally by her. No record of this vehicle was found in Sirajul Akbar’s income tax files or in the affidavit he submitted to the EC before the 2008 election.
Based on the findings, the ACC concluded that Sheikh Hasina submitted false information in her affidavit in violation of the RPO and recommended that the EC take appropriate legal action.
The ACC recently launched a fresh inquiry into allegations of illegal wealth accumulation against the former prime minister on May 18. A team led by Deputy Director Masudur Rahman is currently handling the investigation.
Separately, several other ACC inquiries are ongoing against Sheikh Hasina, including cases related to plot forgery, money laundering abroad, and embezzlement of project funds.
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On March 10, in a case concerning the illegal allotment of 60 kathas of land in Purbachal, the ACC filed six separate charge sheets against Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana’s family members, former state minister Sharif Ahmed, former principal secretary to the PM, and 14 officials of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works. Following this, a court issued arrest warrants against the accused.