Dhaka: On Thursday, Tarique Rahman, 51, who is the Senior
Vice-Chairman of BNP has been sentenced a seven-years of jail for a case of
money laundering of nearly US $2.5 milion. Tarique is the eldest son of main
Opposition leader and former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
A High Court bench, consisting Justice M Enayetur Rahim and
Justice Amir Hossain, has handed the verdict yesterday along with Tarique's
friend and business partner Gias Uddin Al Mamun. Reports are that the apex
court has lowered the fine amount into half and made it Taka 20 crore. Both
Rahman and Al Mamun were set free by a lower court in Dhaka and were accused of
siphoning Taka 204 million.
Justice M Enayetur Rahim, depicted in the courtroom: “Since
convict Md Tarique Rahman has been absconding, the sentence of imprisonment as
awarded shall be executed after causing his arrest or when he surrenders before
the trial court, whichever is earlier.” Following the sentence, a lawyer from
Anti- Corruption Commission has said that, “The verdict once again endorsed
that no one is above the law.”
Notably, Tarique was fleeing from Bangladesh since 2008 and
was living in London on parole. There was several arrest warrants against him.
Bangladesh Law Minister Anisul Haq noted that Tarique has
to surrender to the police first, if he wants to appeal against the sentence.
He also added that if needed, Bangladesh will ask assistance from international
police agency and the UK government.
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