Sadeque jailed for 13yrs

Former Dhaka city mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka was on Tuesday sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 13 years on charge of amassing illegal wealth and hiding information on his assets.
The judge of the Dhaka Special Judge’s Court-3, Abu Ahmed Jamadar, ordered confiscation of Sadeque’s wealth of Tk 10.5 crore, which it found to be disproportionate to his legitimate income.
Sadeq, also BNP vice-chairman, now under treatment in the United State, was tried in his absence.
The court jailed Sadeque for 10 years for acquiring illegal wealth and three years for hiding information in the wealth report submitted to the Anti-Corruption Commission.
The court, however, ordered concurrent execution of the sentences meaning that Sadeque would need to serve the highest term, 10 years, in prison.
The court also fined Sadeque Tk 10 lakh and ordered him to serve six more months in jail if he failed to pay the fine.
The court ordered confiscation of five-katha plot at Gulshan, the six-storey house on the plot, 100.19 acres of lands including agricultural lands in the name of Buriganga Industries Limited at Kaliakair in Gazipur and Rupganj in Narayanganj and Tk 23.12 lakh deposited in the Habib Bank in the name of Buriganga Industries Limited.
The court also issued a warrant for the arrest of Sadeque.
Sadeq, also accused in over two dozen cases, went to the United States on July 1, 2014 after being released on bail granted by the High Court. He was in jail for five months.
On April 2, 2008, during the military-controlled interim regime, Anti Corruption Commission assistant director Shamsul Alam filed the accusing the former Dhaka mayor of accumulating illegal wealth of Tk 10.50 crore and hiding information in his wealth report. Sadeque’s wife Ismat Ara, daughter Sarika Sadeque and son Ishraf Hossain were also named as accused in the case filed with Ramna police station.
On July 1, 2008, Shamsul, also the investigation officer of the case, submitted charge sheet against Sadeque. On October 30, 2014, the court framed charges against Sadeque while he was abroad for treatment.
According to the charges, Sadeque submitted his wealth report to the commission on December 6, 2007showing wealth of Tk 9.97 crore, but the commission found that he was possessing wealth of Tk 9.76 crore disproportionate to his legitimate income.
The investigation officer dropped Sadeque’s son and daughter from the charge sheet as their involvement was not proved in the investigation, the charge sheet stated.
The commission could not press charge against Sadeque’s wife as the High Court stayed the investigation against her after she filed a writ petition.
The commission had field similar graft cases against many politicians and businessmen during the 2007-08 interim regime.
Most of the graft cases field against the ruling Awami League leaders, including prime minister Sheikh Hasina, were either stayed or quashed or the sentences were cancelled by the High Court. The commission either appealed or moved appeals against those High Court verdicts.
Another senior BNP leader Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain is now in jail in a money laundering case filed by the commission as the Appellate Division on February 24, 2014 had stayed his the anticipatory bail he had secured from the High Court in the case. He was then arrested at his home on Mar 12, 2014.

http://newagebd.net/168482/sadeque-jailed-for-13yrs/