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Ex-MP Mizan jailed for 8yrs in graft case

A court in Dhaka has sentenced former lawmaker of Khulna-2 constituency Mizanur Rahman to 8 years in prison for acquiring illegal wealth beyond known source of income.

Judge Muhammad Abu Taher of Special Judge’s Court-3, Dhaka announced the verdict on Thursday (January 30).

He has been sentenced to 3 years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 26 (2) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, and fined of Tk 20,000, in default, to serve 3 more months in jail.

Under Section 27 (1) of the ACC Act, he has been sentenced to 5 years in prison, along with a fine of Tk 30,000 and an additional three months in prison in default.

The judge noted in the verdict that the sentences under the two sections will run concurrently. Therefore, he will have to serve a maximum sentence of 5 years.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of Tk 1.44 crore, which was undeclared, in favour of the state.

On January 23, 2025 the ACC and the defendants presented their arguments, the court set January 30 as the date for the verdict. Mizanur Rahman was on bail.

On January 23, the court cancelled his bail and ordered him to be sent to prison.

He was brought from prison to the court before the verdict was announced. After the verdict was announced, he was taken back to prison with a warrant of execution.

In response to the verdict, the defendant’s lawyer Salah Uddin Khan said, “The case was filed to remove him from the political field due to the anger of the Sheikh family. He was a member of parliament. He was accused of having assets outside his known income of only Tk 1.58 crore, which is not true at all. We have been deprived of justice in this verdict. We will appeal against the sentence in the High Court. We will get justice there”.

According to the case source, on August 6, 2019, the ACC’s director, Md Manjur Morshed, filed the case against Mizanur Rahman at the ACC’s integrated Dhaka District Office-1 on charges of acquiring assets beyond his known income. After the investigation, he submitted the charge sheet to the court on August 23, 2021.

The Mizanur was accused of acquiring assets beyond his known income of Tk 1, 58,57,981 and concealing information about assets worth Tk 20 lakh, the charge sheet mentioned.