FBI agent to testify in Coco case

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A US detective will testify in the money-laundering case against Arafat Rahman Coco and Ismail Hossain Simon, reports bdnews24.com. Public prosecutors Anisul Haque and Mosharraf Hossain Kajal told the news agency Sunday that they would call in Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent Deborah Heprevotte, investigator of the US bank accounts of the two accused, to testify in the case. They said this after hearing on the case in Dhaka's Third Special Judge's Court. The case was filed on March 17, 2009 while charges were pressed against Coco and Simon on November 30 for laundering US$0.93 million and Singapore $2.9 million. Thirty people have been made witnesses to the case. Coco has been in Bangkok on parole since July 19, 2008. He was arrested on September 3, 2007 in the GATCO corruption case. Simon, son of former shipping minister late Akbar Hossain, is absconding. Although Heprevotte is not an enlisted witness to the case, she is being called in to prove charges brought against the accused. The public prosecutors said the court would be informed about this witness during the next hearing. Meanwhile, judge of Dhaka's Third Special Judge's Court Mozammel Hossain took testimonies of two witnesses earlier in the day. They are Project Director of Chittagong New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) Khademul Bashar and its Senior Assistant Chief Habibur Rasul. Former attorney general Salahuddin Ahmed and former consular general in Washington, Brig Gen AK Khalekuzzaman testified on February 8, while the attorney general's personal secretary Kabir Ahmed and Kafrul Police Station's ex-officer in-charge (OC) Salahuddin Ahmed gave testimonies on January 19. The plaintiff, Abu Sayeed, also a deputy director of the Anti-corruption Commission, testified on January 4.