The High Court (HC) today (September 14, 2022) granted anticipatory bail to controversial Laxmipur UP chairman Md Selim Khan for four weeks in a graft case. The HC bench of Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif and Justice Biswajit Debnath passed the order. The court also asked him to surrender before the  trial court after four weeks. Read: HC directs Laxmipur UP Chairman Selim Khan to surrender within 3 weeks Advocate Momtaz Uddin Fakir appeared for Salim Khan at the court while Advocate Khorshed Alam Khan appeared for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). Selim Khan’s counsel submitted the bail petition on Tuesday. On August 14, HC asked Selim to surrender to the trial court within three weeks in a case filed over acquiring Tk 34 crore illegal assets through unauthorised sand extraction. On August 1, ACC’s assistant director Ataur Rahman filed the case against Selim Khan for acquiring the assets illegally. Read: AL expels UP chairman Selim Khan According to the complaint, Selim Khan acquired assets worth Tk 34,53, 81,119 beyond his known source of income and he concealed information about his assets . On August 8, the Appellate Division ruled that Md Selim Khan must pay a huge amount in royalties against sand extraction from the Meghna river banks. It said since 2016, writ petitioner Selim Khan had been extracting sand from the Meghna River in Chandpur Sadar and Haimchar illegally, causing the government to incur a huge losses.

Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) on Sunday submitted a report to the High Court (HC) stating that the information regarding deposits of 67 Bangladeshis in various Swiss banks were sought from the  authorities concerned of Switzerland. But the Swiss authorities only provided the details of one individual in this regard which BFIU also submitted to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), BFIU said in their report. The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat will hear the report Sunday. BFIU is a member of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), an international network of FIUs. According to the report, the Swiss Bank published its annual report on June 16 this year. On the following day, the Swiss authorities were requested to provide necessary information about the money deposited by Bangladeshi banks and individuals in various Swiss banks through Egmont Secure Web (ESW). However, Bangladesh has not yet received any information. BFIU even asked FIEU for this information on June 17 last, it added. On Thursday, the High Court ordered the government and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to explain why the government didn’t seek information of deposits of Bangladesh money in the Swiss banks. Read: BFIU sought illegal money information from Swiss banks repeatedly: BB However, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said Bangladesh sought information on the deposits of Bangladeshi money in the Swiss banks but the Swiss side did not respond to the query. Momen said this after his conversation on the issue with Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder and Finance Secretary Fatima Yasmin on the same day. The foreign minister said he advised the governor and the finance ministry to come up with the statements as confusion arose following some media reports quoting Ambassador of Switzerland to Bangladesh Nathalie Chuard. said it is not true that Bangladesh did not seek information from Switzerland. The Swiss envoy at the DCAB Talk on Wednesday said any estimate on deposits of Bangladeshi money in the Swiss banks is “purely speculative” and no conclusion can be drawn on the basis of media and other reports. Responding to a question on information exchange on the issue, she said Switzerland is really committed to implementing international standards. In accordance with these international standards they can have some specific regulations and agreements also with the country to exchange this type of information, she said. “So that is something should be developed,” said the ambassador, adding that they have been providing to the government all the information regarding how to reach an agreement on these matters but no request has been submitted regarding any particular funding.

A writ petition was filed with the High Court (HC) on Wednesday seeking its directive to the authorities concerned for conducting a judicial probe into the accidents at the level crossings across the country. Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Tapas Kanti Baul filed a writ petition on behalf of Dhaka University (DU) student Mohiuddin Roni. The writ petition sought directive to pay compensation to the families of the deceased and to the injured victims of train accidents in Chattogram and Gopalganj. The writ petition also sought the formation of a committee headed by a former judge of the Appellate Division to probe the accidents, said Tapas Kanti. Read: Irregularities in train ticket sale: HC stays realisation of fine from Shohoz The Home Affairs Secretary, Law Secretary and Railways Secretary were made respondents to the writ petition. Tapas Kanti said he presented the writ petition for hearing at a bench of the High Court today, but Justice Md Mojibur Rahman Mia refused to hear the writ petition. “Now I will present the writ petition in another bench of the High Court for hearing.” On July 29, a speeding express train rammed into a microbus at a level crossing at Mirsharai upazila on Friday, killing at least 11 people who were returning from a visit to a popular waterfall in the hills of the area. A court sent gateman Saddam Hussain to jail in the case filed over that accident. On July 21, five construction workers were killed and three injured as a train rammed a concrete mixer three-wheeler at a level crossing in Gopalganj's Kashiani upazila.

The High Court (HC) has deferred till June 5 the hearing on a rule issued against the proceedings of a corruption case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) during 1/11 against BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife Zubaida Rahman. The court also delivers its opinion on whether Tarique  and Zubaida can recruit a lawyer in the case as they are fugitives. Also read:HC directs ACC to identify those involved in money laundering through e-commerce A HC bench comprising Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akand passed the deferment order on Sunday.   Lawyer AJ Mohammad Ali and Kaiser Kamal stood for Tarique and Zubaida. On the other hand, an Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique deferred the hearing of Shamim Iskander, the younger brother of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia till June 5 in a case filed by the ACC for acquiring illegal wealth. Lawyer Mahbub Uddin Khokon stood for Shamim Iskander while Md Khurshid Alam Khan represented the anti-graft body.   ACC filed the case against Tarique, his wife Zubaida and her mother Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu of amassing illegal wealth and concealing information in wealth statements, with Kafrul police station on September 26, 2007. The accused later filed a petition challenging the legality of the case proceedings. Also read: HC orders disposal of ex-MP Bodi’s graft case in 1 yr In 2007,  the ACC issued a notice seeking information on the assets of Shamim. In 2008, the ACC filed a case under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act with the Ramna police station in the capital alleging concealing assets against Iskander and his wife. In 2016, the High Court rejected Shamim's application for seeking dismissal of the case, and they then appealed to the Appellate Division.