The Anti-Corruption Commission has initiated an enquiry into allegations of corruption, embezzlement and money laundering in the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project.
A special team of five ACC officials are conducting the entire probe.
Ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and niece Tulip Siddiq allegedly embezzled $5 billion from ‘overpriced’ $12.65 billion Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant through various offshore bank accounts in Malaysia, said the Chief Adviser’s press wing quoting the ACC.
It is alleged that these people siphoned off substantial amounts of money through various offshore accounts in Malaysia, following questionable procurement practices related to construction of the entire nuclear plant, it said.
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The claims of kickbacks, mismanagement, money laundering and potential abuse of power raise significant concerns about the integrity of the project and the use of public funds, it said.
Allegations against Tulip’s Family
Tulip’s paternal uncle, Tarique Ahmed Siddique, is the Security Adviser to the ex-prime minister, his wife and daughter are stakeholders in a fake company named Prochchaya Limited (Incorporation Certificate Number C-75659/09, dated March 25, 2009).
This company, in affiliation with a slash fund cheat fund company named Destiny Group, had laundered around $900 million to different countries, including the United Kingdom and has opened a company named Zumana Investment & Properties Limited [Incorporation Certificate Number 7417417, dated October 25, 2010] in the United Kingdom.
Various newspapers claim in the UK and worldwide that Labour Party MP Tulip Siddiq has maintained discrete connections with Moscow since she met Russian President Putin.
Allegation against Hasina, Joy
The ACC on Sunday decided to conduct an inquiry into the allegation against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy over laundering $300mn to the United States and the United Kingdom.
ACC to probe graft allegations against Hasina, family members
The name of Joy first came up as a money laundering suspect in the United States versus Rizvi Ahmed case in 2014, the CA’s press wing said, quoting the ACC.
Later, a probe conducted by a powerful US intelligence agency uncovered serious financial scams involving Joy.
It has also noted that in particular, information emerged that money was being laundered from various offshore bank accounts in Hong Kong and the Cayman Islands in his name to various bank accounts in Washington and New York in the United States and London in the United Kingdom through a local money exchange entity.
The US intelligence agency also confirmed the matter through their London representative and found evidence of serious financial irregularities and money laundering committed by Joy.
It has also been mentioned that Linda Samuels, Senior Trial Attorney of the Department of Justice, contacted Special Agent La Prevot and found that $300 million was deposited from Bangladesh to various bank accounts in the United States.
Tk 80,000 crore Graft in Nine Projects
Moreover, the commission has initiated a new enquiry against Sheikh Hasina, son Sajeeb Wazed, her younger sister Sheikh Rehana and Rehana’s daughter and British minister Tulip Siddiq into corruption allegations involving Tk 80,000 crore.
BFIU summons bank account details of Sheikh Hasina, Rehana
The alleged corruption involving Tk 80,000 crore occurred in nine projects, including the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant and the Special Ashrayan Project during the Awami League government between 2009 and 2023.
Recently, the ACC special enquiry team has collected the preliminary identity documents from the Election Commission office and from Immigration and Passport Department.
A special requisition report has been sent to Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) for supplying relevant documents and statements of offshore bank accounts running by the name of the suspected persons.