Bashundhara Group owners seek more time to appear before ACC

Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan and his family have sought 90 days to respond to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) summons over land expropriation, embezzlement and money laundering charges.

They filed the request to the chairman of the anti-graft agency through a lawyer on Monday, ACC spokesperson Akhtarul Islam said.

“The law stipulates that the ACC must complete the investigation within 45 days. So, whether the time extension would be granted depends on the decision of the investigation officer.

On May 20, the ACC sent a letter to the Sobhan family, instructing them to appear before it for questioning. Akbar, his wife Afroz Begum, their eldest son Sadat Sobhan, and Sadat’s wife Sonia Ferdousi Sobhan, were scheduled to be quizzed on Sunday.

Akbar’s son and the group's Managing Director Sayem Sobhan Anvir, his wife Sabrina Sobhan, Co-Chairman Sadat Sobhan, his wife Sonia Ferdousi Sobhanm, Vice-Chairmen Shafiat Sobhan (Sanvir) and Safwan Sobhan, along with Safwan’s wife Yasha Sobhan, were supposed to be questioned by the anti-graft watchdog.

After the fall of the Awami League government on Aug 5, 2024, multiple state agencies launched inquiries into alleged irregularities and corrupt practices by major business beneficiaries of the previous regime.

The National Board of Revenue’s Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) opened separate investigations into five conglomerates, including Bashundhara, and sent letters to banks and financial institutions asking for transaction details of their owners and relatives.

In October last year, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) froze the bank accounts of Sobhan and his four sons.

That same month, a court imposed a travel ban on eight members of the Sobhan family following a plea by the ACC.

Separately, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) announced in September that it had opened an investigation into Sobhan, his son Anvir, and other affiliates over alleged land grabs worth Tk 1.5 trillion and money laundering.