ACC seeks wealth info of Mahi B Chowdhury, wife

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has sent separate letters seeking wealth information of Bikalpa Dhara Joint Secretary General Mahi B Chowdhury, and his wife, Ashfah Huq Lopa.

The notice was sent by ACC Deputy Director Jalal Uddin Ahmed as part of an investigation concerning the pair about laundering money to the United States (US) and amassing illegal wealth beyond known sources of income.

The duo has been asked to submit their wealth information within 21 working days, according to the notice.

Earlier, on October 8, the commission sent similar notices to a different address belonging to Mahi B Chowdhury in Baridhara.

An unnamed ACC official said that the ACC has already sought information regarding the bank accounts of the couple from various government institutions and banks.

According to the notice, Mahi B Chowdhury allegedly laundered money to the US and amassed wealth beyond known sources of income.

Moreover, his wife, Ashfah Huq Lopa, was accused of amassing movable and immovable wealth through money laundering to the US.

The notice further warned that if the couple fails to submit the statement of wealth information in due time or if they submit a false statement, action will be taken against them under sub-section 26 (2) of the ACC Act.

According to the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) under Bangladesh Bank (BB), the pair’s financial transactions have been monitored since June, 2019.

On August 4 2019, the ACC summoned lawmaker Mahi B Chowdhury and his wife Ashfah Huq Lopa for questioning over money laundering allegations, but they failed to appear before the anti-graft body on August 8.

Their summon was postponed to August 25 in response to the couple seeking more time.

Following interrogation by the commission, Mahi B Chowdhury denied all accusations to the media.

He is the son of former president of Bangladesh AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury.