Pintu the fortune maker

Trackback URL

Download PDF

The immediate past lawmaker from Dhaka-8, Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu, saw quite a rise in fortune in the last five years and three months with his income, land property and shares in different companies growing manifold.

According to the statements he submitted to the returning officer (RO) in 2001 and in 2007, his annual income shot up 104 times from Tk 3 lakh to 3.13 crore while the land property expanded from 1.31 kathas to 176 kathas, which is 134 times.

During the time, Pintu’s net worth [declared] soared to Tk 5.60 crore from 8 lakh in 2001, marking a staggering increase of Tk 5.52 crore.

Five years back, he had no property or security, bonds, or bank deposits excepting a little over one katha land. Now he has over Tk 4.8 crore in deposits and shares in six companies [declared].

Pintu, also a former president of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, showed Tk 3,00,000 as his yearly income in 2001 and Tk 2,50,000 as yearly expenses. His annual income was shown Tk 3,13,98,710 in 2007 while his personal expenditure was shown to be Tk 2,20,000.

ANNUAL EXPENDITURE REDUCED
Surprisingly, despite devaluation of currency and inflation he could still manage to reduce his annual expenditure. He showed Tk 2.50 lakh as his annual expenses in 2001 but he claimed it to be Tk 2.20 lakh in 2007. That leaves his monthly expenses to Tk 18,333. The amount could barely suffice for the family of Pintu who lives in a posh house and has a couple of cars including a Pajero.

COMPARISONS: BETWEEN 2001 AND 2007
In 2001, Pintu had declared a total wealth of Tk 8 lakh including a land on 24/2 Moneswar Road in Hazaribagh. He did not declare any other properties in the statement submitted on September 13 the same year.

In 2007, he increased his declared properties to Tk 4,08,56,539 including shares worth Tk 16,25,000 in Diamond Thread Industries (pvt) Ltd, Tk 50,000 in Asa Travels, Tk 50,000 in Nasa Recruiting Agencies, Tk 25,000 in Asa Paribahan, Tk 3,00,00,000 in Diamond Spinning Mills, and Tk 80,00,000 in SN Television.

His declared bank deposit was nil in 2001 but now it stands at Tk 11,06,539, according to the statement submitted on January 9, 2007.

In a span of five years and three months, his land property (excluding household properties) rose from 349 ojutangso (1.31 katha) to 2.93 acres (176 katha) [.265 decimal is equivalent to one katha].

This includes a 2.11-katha land [shown 1.31 kathas in 2001 statement] on 24/2, Moneswar Road (worth Tk 3,45,000), a 5-katha land at plot No. 12 in Banani Road 3/2A (worth Tk 50,00,000), 13.65-katha land at Lalbagh (worth Tk 52,28,100), 2.74-katha land at Hazaribagh (worth Tk 11,76,600), 5.16-katha land at South Sonatengor in Hazaribagh (worth Tk 2,22,000), 21.81-katha land at South Rangamatia in Savar (worth Tk 1,27,650), 30.30-katha land at Gohailbari of Savar (worth Tk 2,94,150), 91.48-katha land at Baroipara also of Savar (worth Tk 19,92,450) and 5-katha land at 10/1,Industrial Plot in Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka ( worth Tk 8,32,500).

Pintu had zero liabilities in 2001 whereas after five years and three months, those stand at Tk 53,15,00,000. A personal loan of Tk 75,00,000 from the Dilkusha Branch of City Bank Ltd, and Tk 15,00,00,000 from Sonali Bank, Dilkusha Branch, Tk 12,00,00,000 from Janata Bank, Principal Office Branch, Tk 12,00,00,000 from Agrani Bank, Principal Office Branch, Tk 7,00,00,000 from City Bank, Principal Office Branch, Tk 6,00,00,000 again from City Bank, Principal Office Branch, and Tk 40, 00,000 from Motijheel Branch of Phoenix Leasing Co. Ltd in loans taken out either as chairman or managing director of different financial institutions make up his liabilities.

FUEL COST
His expenditure statement shows he spends only Tk 12,000 (Tk 1000 per month) a year on fuel and maintenance. This means Tk 33.33 on daily fuel and maintenance of his cars.

ELECTRICITY USE
As declared in his latest statement, he spends only Tk 4,800 a year on electricity. This means electricity does not cost him more than Tk 400 a month. If the fixed line rent of Tk 150 and Vat are excluded, he consumes only about 100KW (Tk 2.50 per KW) of electricity a month. This suggests he cannot run an air conditioner or use any other electrical appliances like iron or hairdryer.

LAND VALUE: SHOWN BELOW MARKET PRICE
Besides, the papers he furnished show his property and land prices to be well below the market price.

In his statement, the price of his 30.30-katha land at Gohailbari in Savar is shown to be Tk 2,94,150, that is, per katha land cost only Tk 9,707. But according to the market price, per katha land in Gohailbari and adjacent areas should cost Tk 1,50,000, said locals.

NO TAX PAPERS FILED IN 2001
Pintu did not submit any tax return papers along with the wealth statement he submitted to the returning officer (RO) for 2001 election. He also did not have any other properties (security, bonds and bank deposit) declared in 2001.

Leave a Reply