ACC seeks Interpol red notice against former land minister Saifuzzaman, wife

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has appealed to a Chattogram court seeking the issuance of an Interpol red notice against former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed and his wife Rukmila Zaman, reports bdnews24.com.

The petition was filed on Thursday in the court of Chattogram Senior Metropolitan Special Judge Abdur Rahman.

ACC legal representative Mokarram Hossain told the news agency that the request was made in connection with a case filed earlier against the couple.

"The court has set Sunday for a hearing on the matter," he added.

On Jul 24, the anti-graft watchdog initiated a case accusing the former minister, his wife, siblings, and 31 others of embezzling and laundering Tk 250 million from United Commercial Bank PLC (UCB).

ACC Deputy Director Moshiur Rahman lodged the case with the agency's Chattogram district office.

Among the accused are Saifuzzaman's wife and former UCB chairperson Rukmila, 46, his brother and UCBL Director Asifuzzaman Chowdhury, 46, and his sister Roksana Zaman Chowdhury, 56, alongside UCBL and Aramit Group officials.

On Wednesday night, ACC investigators arrested Aramit officials Abdul Aziz, and Utpal Pal from Double Mooring in Chattogram for their involvement in the graft.

ACC counsel Mokarram confirmed that remand petitions for the two have been filed and hearings are under way.

According to the case statement, an employee of Aramit Group, owned by Saifuzzaman, was falsely shown as the proprietor of a shell company named Vision Trading.

Using forged documents, a current account was opened at UCB's port city's branch on Oct 13 2019. In 2020, the company applied for a 180-day loan for the import of wheat, pulses, turmeric, and chickpeas.

Bank officials, based on false information about ownership, goods, warehouses, and performance, submitted a "satisfactory" report recommending Tk 250 million as working capital. Despite 17 negative observations flagged by the bank's credit committee, the UCB Board of Directors approved the loan without due diligence. The funds were transferred to accounts of four paper companies -- Alpha Traders, Classic Trading, Model Trading, and Imperial Trading -- and later siphoned off.

Saifuzzaman, the son of late Awami League leader Akhtaruzzaman Chowdhury Babu and former MP for Chattogram-13, had previously served as state minister and later minister for land. Following the political changeover in August 2024, the ACC began investigating his wealth.