Tarique, Zubaida acquitted in illegal wealth case

The High Court on Wednesday acquitted BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman in a long-running illegal wealth case, originally filed during the 2007-08 military-backed caretaker government. With this verdict, Tarique Rahman stands cleared of all cases filed against him under successive Awami League administrations.
The verdict was delivered by a single-member bench of Justice Md Khasruzzaman, who overturned the convictions issued by the lower court, questioning the procedural legitimacy of the case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The court observed that the ACC had failed to serve a mandatory legal notice to Dr Zubaida Rahman prior to initiating proceedings, rendering the case procedurally flawed. It termed the prosecution "malicious" and quashed the convictions, even though no formal appeal had been submitted by Tarique Rahman.
Previously, Tarique had been sentenced to nine years' imprisonment, while Zubaida received a three-year sentence under Sections 26(2) and 27(1) of the ACC Act for allegedly concealing wealth and possessing assets beyond known sources of income. The charges stemmed from a case filed by ACC Deputy Director Zahirul Huda at Kafrul Police Station on September 26, 2007. Zubaida's mother, Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu, was also implicated.
The original conviction was handed down by Dhaka's Senior Special Judge Md Asaduzzaman on August 2, 2023.
The High Court ruling came shortly after Dr Zubaida Rahman returned to Bangladesh on May 6, ending a 17-year self-imposed exile alongside her husband and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia. On May 13, she filed a petition seeking to condone a 587-day delay in lodging an appeal. The court not only granted the delay plea but also accepted her appeal and granted bail the same day - indicating recognition of procedural lapses in the trial court's verdict.
Legal counsels SM Shahjahan, Kaiser Kamal, and Md Zakir Hossain represented the Rahman couple. They argued that all assets attributed to Tarique were lawfully acquired, transparently recorded, and allocated by the government. They specifically cited the family's Mainul Road cantonment residence, which was allotted to the family of former President Ziaur Rahman, and a Gulshan property valued symbolically at Tk 33, both of which they maintained were state-sanctioned.
"The trial was a travesty. I have never witnessed such a farce in the name of justice in my entire legal career," said senior lawyer SM Shahjahan during the hearing.
The ACC was represented by senior lawyer Asif Hasan, while Deputy Attorney General Abdul Karim appeared for the state.
This verdict is the latest in a series of acquittals involving Tarique Rahman following the political transition on August 5 last year, when the Awami League government stepped down. Since then, several corruption and political cases against Tarique and Khaleda Zia have been either dismissed or stayed.