ACC sues ex-MP Ashim Kumar Ukil, wife over graft charges

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed separate cases against former Awami League lawmakers Ashim Kumar Ukil and his wife Apu Ukil over allegations of acquiring wealth beyond known sources of income and money laundering.

Ashim, a former member of parliament from Netrokona-3, has been accused of acquiring Tk2.32 crore in illegal assets and concealing information about assets worth Tk56.19 lakh, according to the ACC.

According to the case statement, Ashim declared assets worth Tk7.20 crore in his wealth statement. However, the ACC’s verification found assets worth Tk7.76 crore in his name.

The commission calculated his acceptable income at Tk7.52 crore against expenditure of Tk2.08 crore.

After deducting his expenditure, his legitimate source of funds for acquiring assets stood at Tk5.44 crore. The ACC found no legitimate source for the remaining Tk2.32 crore, prompting the case.

Meanwhile, Apu Ukil, a former reserved-seat MP, has been accused of acquiring Tk3.37 crore in assets beyond her known sources of income.

According to the ACC, her acceptable income stood at Tk4.36 crore, while her expenditure amounted to Tk5.66 crore.

Her expenditure exceeded her income by Tk1.29 crore. The commission added this deficit to Tk2.08 crore worth of assets found in her name to determine the total amount of unexplained wealth.

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Apu has also been accused of laundering Tk1.26 crore in collusion with her husband, Ashim.

The ACC alleged that despite having no acceptable source of income, Apu transferred the money to her husband in four instalments between the 2016-17 and 2020-21 tax years.

The transfers included Tk61.50 lakh in 2016-17, Tk15 lakh in 2017-18, Tk10 lakh in 2018-19 and Tk40 lakh in 2020-21.

Ashim reportedly disclosed in his income tax records that he had received the money from his wife.

The ACC alleged that the transfers were made to conceal the source and ownership of money acquired through bribery and corruption.

The commission filed the case against Ashim under relevant provisions of the ACC Act and the Prevention of Corruption Act. The case against Apu includes charges under the ACC Act, Money Laundering Prevention Act, Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act.

ACC approves charge sheet against UniPay2U director

Meanwhile, the ACC has approved the submission of a charge sheet against MA Taher, a director of UniPay2U Bangladesh Ltd, over allegations of acquiring Tk1.15 crore in assets beyond known sources of income.

According to the commission, a case was filed against Taher on 11 November 2020, on allegations of acquiring Tk40 lakh in illegal assets.

During the investigation, the ACC found immovable assets worth Tk50 lakh and movable assets worth Tk65 lakh in his name.

The commission said it found no legitimate source of income to justify the total assets worth Tk1.15 crore.

ACC Assistant Director Tapas Bhattacharya investigated the case.