Money laundering: No legal bar to continue trial of BNP leader Hafiz

The High Court today cleared the way for a lower court concerned to continue the trial proceedings of a money laundering case against former BNP lawmaker Hafiz Ibrahim.

The Anti-Corruption Commission filed the case with Gulshan Police Station on August 16, 2011 against Hafiz and his wife Mafruza Sultana for laundering US $1.75 lakh to Singapore.

According to the case statement, the money was paid allegedly by Siemens Bangladesh Ltd to the duo's account to help the company win a deal of supplying core telecommunications equipment to Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Ltd (BTCL).

The amount was sent to an account at a branch of Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore between 2005 and 2006.

Today, the HC summarily rejected a petition filed by Hafiz Ibrahim challenging the trial proceedings of the case and seeking cancellation of the proceedings.

The bench of Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice AKM Zahirul Huq came up with the order after hearing arguments from the counsels for the petitioner and the ACC.

ACC’s lawyer Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star that there is no legal bar for the Special Court-3 of Dhaka to continue the trial proceedings against Hafiz Ibrahim and his wife Mafruza Sultana and other accused following the HC order.

Hafiz Ibharim has filed the petition with the HC in order to delay the trial proceedings of the case purposefully, as the HC and Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has earlier cleared the way for continuing the trial proceedings of the case, he said. 

Meanwhile, Hafiz’s lawyer Advocate Sabbir Hamza Chowdhury told this correspondent that his client will move an appeal before the Appellate Division challenging the HC order, as the case was not filed in accordance with the law.   

Barrister M Amir-Ul Islam argued for Hafiz Ibrahim.