"Their tax files should be frozen."
A Dhaka court has ordered the seizure of tax records belonging to Nayeemul Islam Khan and his wife, Nasima Khan Monty.
Khan is a journalist and former press secretary to deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The order, issued on February 9, 2025, follows corruption allegations linked to suspicious transactions amounting to Tk 386 crores across 163 bank accounts.
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Zakir Hossain Galib granted the request made by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The commission launched an investigation into the couple’s financial dealings.
According to the ACC, the funds were deposited and subsequently withdrawn in significant amounts, raising concerns about illicit wealth accumulation.
Officials argued that freezing the couple’s tax files is necessary for a thorough investigation.
The ACC said: “For the sake of proper investigation of the case, their tax files should be frozen.”
The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) had previously frozen the couple’s bank accounts in August 2024.
At the time, the directive applied to all personal and business accounts linked to the family, suspending any transactions for 30 days.
Despite the freeze, investigations revealed that most of the money had already been withdrawn.
A recent report by the BFIU detailed how Khan personally maintained 91 accounts with deposits totalling Tk 249 crores.
From this, he withdrew Tk 238.34 crores, leaving only Tk 64 lakhs.
His wife, Nasima Khan Monty, managed 13 accounts with Tk 16.96 crores in deposits, withdrawing Tk 13 crores.
Their three daughters also had accounts, with amounts varying from Tk 35 lakhs to Tk 1.25 crores, most of which were withdrawn.
In addition to bank accounts, the family collectively held 12 credit cards with a total credit limit of Tk 28.35 lakhs.
These cards now have an outstanding balance of Tk 48,408.
Khan himself used six of these cards, while his wife and two daughters held the remaining ones.
The ACC formally opened its investigation into Khan’s finances on January 8, 2025.
This came after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government in August 2024, which led to heightened scrutiny of officials and their close associates.
Following the regime change, Khan went into hiding and later shut down the newspapers he had been operating.
As the corruption probe unfolds, legal experts suggest that the court’s decision to seize Khan’s tax files could lead to further action.
If convicted of financial misconduct, Nayeemul Islam Khan and his family could face serious legal consequences under Bangladesh’s anti-money laundering laws.
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