HBM Iqbal handed 13yrs behind bars

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A special court yesterday sentenced former Awami League lawmaker HBM Iqbal to 10 years’ rigorous and three years’ simple imprisonment in a graft case for committing two different offences including amassing huge amount of wealth by illegal means.

The court also fined him Tk 50 lakh and another one-year jail if he failed to pay the fine.

Iqbal’s wife Dr Momtaj Begum Dolly, sons Moinuddin Iqbal and Imran Iqbal and daughter Nawrin Iqbal were also jailed for three years each as they were found guilty of abetting him.

They have also been fined Tk 1 lakh each and would be behind bars for one more month in failure to pay it.

Special Court-1 Judge Firoz Alam delivered the verdict yesterday afternoon in a courtroom set up at the MP Hostel in the national parliament complex.

All the convicts are absconding and were tried in absentia.

Judge Firoz in his judgment also directed the government to confiscate their wealth worth Tk 14.56 crore, which is disproportionate to the known sources of income of Iqbal, also a businessman.

Iqbal has been convicted for concealing his wealth worth over Tk 10 crore in the wealth statement submitted to the ACC and for accumulating wealth worth over Tk 2 crore beyond his known source of income.

His two sons were found guilty for accumulating wealth worth over Tk 13 lakh and his daughter amassed wealth worth over Tk 1 crore through illegal means.

The case was filed against Iqbal on charges of amassing huge wealth through illegal means and concealing information in the wealth statement submitted to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

ACC Assistant Director Mohammad Ibrahim filed the case against Iqbal, his wife, two sons and a daughter with Gulshan police on June 25.

According to the case statement, Iqbal concealed information about an illegally acquired Tk 5.3 crore house on Gulshan Avenue which he registered in his wife’s name, and Tk 5 crore fixed deposit.

On February 18 last year, the ACC had issued notice to 50 graft suspects, including Iqbal, asking them to submit their wealth statements.

Of the 50, those who were in jail were asked to submit their wealth statement through prisons authorities or their representatives. The rest were directed to submit it to ACC headquarters in person.

Iqbal was not in jail but he submitted his statement through his representatives obtaining a High Court order.

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