Is Yunus Behind the Campaign to Discredit Former PM Hasina?

Dhaka, April 30 (NationPress) A court in Dhaka has mandated the confiscation of properties owned by five relatives of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, including her sister Sheikh Rehana, along with her children.

The directive was given by Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Zakir Hossain Galib in response to a petition submitted by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

Included among the confiscated properties is a residence valued at Tk4.98 crore located in the Baridhara district of the capital, owned by Hasina's daughter Saima Wazed Putul. In Digholia, Khulna, 87.70 decimals of land worth Tk61.87 lakh are registered under the names of Sheikh Rehana, Saima Wazed Putul, and Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy.

An additional 87.70 decimals of land in the same region, valued at Tk41.24 lakh, are in the names of Rehana's children, Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby and Azmina Siddiq Rupanti. Another plot of 19 decimals situated in Tungipara, Gopalganj, worth Tk20.50 lakh, is registered under Rehana's name.

This information was verified by ACC spokesperson Akhtarul Islam.

Previously, on April 29, the same court ordered the confiscation of a flat in Gulshan valued at Tk57 lakh owned by Putul. On March 11, the court had also ordered the seizure of Sudha Sadan, a residence in Dhanmondi listed under the names of Joy and Putul.

The court further mandated the seizure of residences and eight flats registered under the names of Sheikh Rehana, Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby, and Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, with a total market value estimated at Tk8.52 crore.

On April 9, the court froze additional bank accounts totaling Tk16.12 crore in the names of Hasina, Rehana, Joy, Putul, and their affiliates.

Furthermore, 124 bank accounts belonging to Sheikh Hasina and her associates were frozen. Earlier, on March 4, the court had also frozen 14 bank accounts linked to Saima Wazed Putul's organization, Shuchona Foundation.

It is noteworthy that both Awami League supporters and various analysts assert that the interim government under Muhammad Yunus is "executing every plan" to tarnish Hasina and her family. It is important to mention that Yunus and 13 others were charged with allegedly embezzling over USD two million from his telecommunications venture, Grameen Telecom.

The Anti-Corruption Agency has accused Yunus of misappropriating funds from the worker’s welfare fund at Grameen Telecom, one of several companies he founded.

In a related incident, Hasina's residence in Gulshan was also raided and vandalized, yet no police complaint has been filed concerning the event. Hasina has accused Yunus's interim government of supporting mobs to assault Awami League supporters.

Notably, Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, a British Bangladeshi politician and Labour Party MP from Hampstead and Highgate, resigned from her position in January after being implicated in the anti-corruption investigation.

Sheikh Hasina has labeled Yunus as a usurper, asserting that he lacks any constitutional authority or public mandate to govern Bangladesh, claiming he seized power through a "meticulously orchestrated plan" with financial backing from abroad, misleading the general populace and students.