The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is set to file a case against controversial contractor Motazzerul Islam Mithu for allegedly amassing Tk 750 million in illegal assets beyond his known sources of income.
Mithu has long been accused of embezzling and laundering a huge amount of money through syndicates in the health sector.
ACC director general Md Akhter Hossain has confirmed the development to journalists on Wednesday.
According to the ACC's investigation report, Mithu, owner of Lexicon Merchandise and Technocrat, acquired immovable assets worth Tk 184.05 million, including agricultural land, leased property, plots, flats, and houses.
In addition, he allegedly owned movable assets valued at Tk 574.4 million, including company shares and investments, vehicles, bank deposits, gold ornaments, furniture, and electronic items. Together, his total assets were estimated at Tk 758.5 million.
The report further notes that his family expenditures alone amounted to Tk 714.5 million, bringing his total asset and expense tally to Tk 1.473 billion.
The ACC has found that Mithu had legal income sources amounting to Tk 714.9 million, derived from business, house rent, agricultural earnings, salary and allowances, bank interest, security deposit returns, and foreign remittances.
The anti-graft body has detected Tk 750 million worth of assets inconsistent with his known income. The commission has therefore decided to lodge a case against him under Section 27(1) of the ACC Act, 2004.
Mithu's name surfaced in the widely-discussed Panama Papers leak in 2016. Allegations suggest that he embezzled a large sum of money by abusing his influence through his contracting firms, which supplied goods and executed development projects in the health sector.
Earlier, before his death, Brigadier General Md Shahidullah, former director of the Central Medical Stores Depot (CMSD), submitted a written report to the government, claiming that rampant corruption in health sector procurement stemmed largely from the dominance of the so-called "Mithu syndicate".
Following the report, intelligence agencies, the ACC, and other law-enforcement bodies launched multiple investigations against Mithu.
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