Acting Awami League General Secretary Mahabub-ul-Alam Hanif on Sunday (May 16) wondered how BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia had run the government without understanding white money and black money. He raised the question while addressing a press conference following a statement of Khaleda Zia’s lawyer and BNP advisory council member Azam Khan that the former prime minister was ignorant of income tax procedures. He claimed that Khaleda had paid Tk 33.87 lakh as fines from 2002-03 to 2006-07 fiscal years to whiten black money worth Tk 1.33 crore.
Reacting to the charge, Khaleda lawyer, Azam said (Monday May 17: "Ten percent of the money deposited with banks is deducted as income tax at the end of the year. But she (Khaleda) did not know that the deposit again needed to be shown on the tax return and taxes had to be paid on that money too."
He added: "In no way can that money be termed black money. Awami League leaders are calling it black money since they don’t know the difference. Only money whose source is not disclosed is called black money. That is not the case with her (Khaleda).”
Awami League’s reaction came at an impromptu press conference held at the party chief office at Dhanmondi.
“We ask how she had carried out the responsibility of a prime minister without knowing such a simple matter”, said Mahabub-ul-Alam Hanif. He went on to say: “Is Azam’s explanation acceptable? He said any sort of undisclosed money is black money. What- ever may be the source, black money is illegal."
Addressing a public meeting at Barguna on Wednesday (May 12) Prime Minister Sheik Hasina charged that Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman had whitened a large amount of black money by paying fines.
BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain denied the allegation, alleging that the Awami League leaders were trying to tarnish the image of Khaleda Zia by resorting to falsehood.
COURT SUMMONS KOKO
Summons have been issued to Arafat Rahman Koko, son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, and Ismail Hossain Saimon, son of former BNP shipping minister Akbar Hossain, to appear before a Dhaka court on July 18 in connection with a money laundering case.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Dhaka is hearing the case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) under the Money Laundering Prevention Act.
Prosecution claims that a portion of the money deposited to Koko’s bank account was from an account of China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd in the USA. China Harbour was operating in Bangladesh during the time of the transfer as it was constructing the New Mooring Container Terminal.
Koko is presently abroad for treatment following parole in a Sept 2007 graft case. Saimon is absconding since the chargesheet was submitted on Nov 12, 2009 charging them both with siphoning off Sing$ 28.84 lakh and US $9.32 lakh from Bangladesh.
4 H-u-T ACTIVISITS JAILED
The four members of banned Islamist outfit Hizb-ut-Tahrir’s Dhaka University unit were sent to jail on Wednesday (May 12) after two days’ police interrogation. They were arrested under the Anti Terrorism Act.
Earlier, on April 19 the police had arrested Hizb ut-Tahrir’s chief coordinator for Bangladesh operations Mahiuddin Ahmed, from his house. Ahmed is an associate professor at the Institute of Business Administration of Dhaka University
