Revenue intelligence detected Wednesday a locker of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with Pubali Bank, where she also has savings accounts.
Top officials of the Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) said they also found a Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) of Hasina and a joint savings account of Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana in the bank on a spot investigation at its Motijheel corporate branch.
"Following the detection of lockers and savings accounts, the CIC ordered banks and financial institutions to freeze all bank accounts of Hasina," said a senior intelligence official, suspecting any untapped financial transactions despite rigorous investigations.
On the locker, number 128, the CIC will write to the Pubali Bank management to get written reply on the process of unlocking the locker to see what is treasured inside.
Pubali Bank Managing Director Mohammad Ali said the bank has locker of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Sheikh Hasina since 1972.
"If any agencies want to unlock any bank locker, it would have to break it in presence of a magistrate," he said.
The Pubali MD, however, doubts about finding any significant asset in the locker as it was not operational.
Responding to a query, he said the information of this locker must be available to the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU).
He said recently the Pubali Bank made having bank account mandatory if anyone wants to take a locker. However, BB has no such rules.
Earlier, the banker mentions, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's locker was opened by Bangladesh Bank in the presence of a magistrate. Witnesses were there and a list of belongings was prepared, but almost nothing of value was found.
Normally, queries about bank accounts or lockers are routed directly to CAMLCO (Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer). The National Board of Revenue (NBR) may obtain locker information through relevant agencies. If any belongings are discovered, they may be deposited in court or with the central bank.
The Pubali Bank MD says the locker cannot be opened without two keys-one held by Sheikh Hasina and the other by the bank.
He further says Sheikh Hasina's bank account, which she discloses in her tax returns, is also maintained at Pubali Bank. "Each year, she collects her account statement from the bank to file her tax return."
And her bank account that she furnished in tax return is kept with Pubali bank too.
She used to take bank-account statement from the bank every year to submit tax returns.
The FDR of Hasina has Tk 1.2 million worth of deposit while the joint savings accounts have Tk 4.4 million.
Hasina, who fled on August 5, 2025 amid a mass uprising, is now under investigation of Joint Investigation Taskforce (JIT), led by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
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