Graft case: Travel ban issued on former VAT commissioner Waheeda
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Sued on charges of embezzling money by causing losses amounting to Tk152 crore
A Dhaka Court on Thursday asked the former commissioner of large taxpayers' unit (LTU) of value-added tax (VAT) of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) Waheeda Rahman Choudhury not to leave the country.
The court of Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Mohammad Ash Shams Jaglul Hossain passed the order.
The court issued this order following an application by the Anti-Corruption Commission.
The ACC on Tuesday sued Waheeda on charges of embezzling money by causing losses amounting to Tk152 crore to the state through misuse of power.
The case was filed at the ACC's integrated district office in Dhaka-1. ACC's Assistant Director Md Shah Alam Sheikh filed the case.
Customs Commissioner Waheeda Rahman Choudhury has gone on retirement as the LTU Commissioner. She is now on Post Retirement Leave (PRL).
Anti-Corruption Commission Deputy Director and Public Relations Officer Md Aktarul Islam confirmed the matter on Thursday.
He said that ACC lawyer Mahmud Hossain Jahangir and ACC Assistant Director Md Shah Alam Sheikh, the investigation officer of the case, applied to the Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court for a ban on traveling abroad so that the former NBR officer cannot escape abroad.
After the hearing, the court ordered that according to the instructions of the high court, Waheeda Rahman Chowdhury was banned from traveling abroad for the next 60 days from the date of the order.
The ACC has written to the Special Superintendent of Police (Immigration) of the Special Branch (SB) to take necessary measures so that she cannot leave the country after receiving the court order.
The case statement says that accused Waheeda waived four mobile phone operators' unpaid interest of Tk152 crore.
Of the amount, Grameenphone Limited was exempted from paying Tk58,64,88,697 in six files, Banglalink Digital Communication Limited Tk57,88,53,051 in seven files, Robi Axiata Tk14,94,16,688, and Airtel Bangladesh Limited Tk20,53,30,952.
The case was filed against accused Waheeda Rahman Choudhury under Section 218/409 of the Bangladesh Penal Code and Section 5(2) of the Corruption Prevention Act of 1947 for causing financial losses to the government through misuse of power and breach of trust of the government by waiving Tk152,00,89,390 in 16 files through her sole decisions, violating the laws with dishonest intentions.
A report submitted by a three-member probe committee led by National Board of Revenue (NBR) member Hossain Ahmed also found the veracity of the allegations against Waheeda Rahman Choudhury.