ACC sues Basir, DIG Mizan in bribery case

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday filed a case against suspended Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Mizanur Rahman, and suspended ACC director Khandaker Enamul Basir, for a transaction of Tk 40 lakh as bribe.

Sheikh Mohammad Fanafilya, director of the anti-corruption watchdog, lodged the case with its Dhaka district coordination office-1 under the Money Laundering Prevention Act, said ACC Secretary Dilwar Bakht.

Mizan is now in jail in connection with a graft case while Basir is at large, he told reporters.

According to the case statement, in May last year, ACC launched an enquiry into alleged accumulation of illegal wealth by Mizan, who came to spotlight after a marital scandal. He was later withdrawn as additional commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

The commission assigned Basir to carry out the enquiry. Basir took Tk 40 lakh bribe from Mizan in two instalments -- on January 15 and February 25 this year -- with promises of exonerating Mizan of the charges.

Mizan recently brought allegations in media that Basir took bribe from him, and produced audio clips of conversation between them.

Basir has been denying the allegations, saying the audio clip was fabricated.

ACC later removed Basir from the enquiry, and formed a committee to verify Mizan’s claim. The committee, led by Fanafilya, found the allegations to be true and the audio clip genuine. Basir was suspended from his post by ACC on June 10.

Earlier, ACC filed a case against Mizan for amassing Tk 3.28 crore illegally by taking bribes and committing corruption. Between 1998 and 2018, Mizan earned Tk 4.63 crore, but only Tk 1.35 crore of it came from legal sources, ACC said.