Moosa shrugs off graft allegation

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) quizzed business tycoon Moosa Bin Shamsher on Thursday for allegedly accumulating illegal wealth abroad.

ACC deputy director Meer Jainul Abedin Shibly questioned him at the commission for around three hours from 10:00 am, ACC public relations officer Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya told the FE.

After interrogation, Mr Moosa told reporters he had earned the money from different businesses abroad. He did not siphoned off any money from Bangladesh.

Earlier on December 4, the anti-graft watchdog asked the DATCO Group chairman to appear before it on December 18 to face interrogation over the allegation.

ACC summoned Dr Moosa Bin Shamsher as international magazines including The Sunday Telegraph Magazine (London) and Business Asia featured him as the business tycoon who accumulated wealth worth about US$ 7 billion or Tk 510 billion (51,000 crore).

"Yes I got the money of that amount…and nobody can earn such an amount of money in Bangladesh. I have been doing business abroad for 40 years," he told reporters.

He said his money was now in Swiss banks. If the money could be brought home, it would be invested in different sectors including construction of the Padma Bridge from Goalanda to Aricha-Nagarbari.

"Building Padma Bridge is not only my dream, it was also a dream of my father," said Moosa, who hailed from Faridpur.

Considering the reports published in international media about his lifestyle, income and income sources, the national anti-graft body on November 3 last decided to launch a probe against him.

Moosa Bin Shamsher drew flak for purportedly being a prominent name in the international weapons industry during the 1970s and 1980s.