A Dhaka court on Wednesday ordered the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to attach 22 flats belonging to former Padma Bank chairman Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat, his wife, and their son in connection with allegations of embezzling Tk 887 crore from banks and the share market.
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Zakir Hossain passed the order after ACC Deputy Director Md Masudur Rahman, head of the enquiry team, submitted an application in this regard. The flats are located in Dhaka's Gulshan, Cantonment area, Banani, Baridhara, Bashundhara Residential Area, Nikunja, Panthapath, and Pallabi, as well as in Gazipur and Kaliakair.
Of these, Sarafat owns nine flats in Gulshan, Dhaka Cantonment, and Bashundhara Residential Area, a 20-storey building in Gulshan, and 43.20 decimals of property located in Dhaka's Badda and Nikunja, Gazipur, and Kaliakair.
Sarafat's wife, Anjuman Ara Shahid, owns six flats in Panthapath, Gulshan, Pallabi, and Bashundhara Residential Area and 21.25 decimals of property in Bashundhara, Nikunja, Badda, and Gazipur. Their son, Chowdhury Rahib Safwan Sarafat, owns seven flats in Banani and Baridhara.
ACC Public Prosecutor Mahmud Hossain Jahangir moved the application on behalf of the anti-graft body.
On October 7 last year, the same court issued a travel ban on Sarafat in connection with corruption allegations against him.
Meanwhile, the ACC began investigating the allegations against Sarafat for seizing the bank and embezzling Tk 800 crore from the stock market. Sarafat took control of Padma Bank with assistance from top officials of the police and an intelligence agency.
In January last year, Sarafat resigned from the position of chairman of Padma Bank (formerly Farmers Bank) citing health reasons.
