DHAKA, 9 October 2007 — A special court in Dhaka sentenced former minister Mohammad Nasim to 13 years in jail yesterday for corruption, as part of the army-backed interim government’s anti-graft campaign, lawyers said. Nasim is a close aide to Awami League leader and former Premier Hasina Wajed
Judge Mohammad Firoz Alam of a special anti-graft court also sentenced Nasim’s wife Laila Arzumand Banu, tried in absentia, to three years in jail for aiding and abetting her husband in amassing wealth “by dishonest means.”
Additionally, the court ordered the confiscation of 12.6 million taka ($184,000), found “disproportionate to his (Nasim’s) known sources of income.”
Nasim, who was arrested in February, served as telecommunications minister in the government of former Prime Minister Hasina Wajed, who ruled the country for five years to 2001.
Hasina and her rival Khaleda Zia are both in jail, facing trial for alleged corruption and abuse of power.
Truth Commission
Bangladesh yesterday announced plans for a “truth commission” to ease the pressure on the country’s economy from a tough court-led crackdown on corruption.
Under the scheme, business people who have been detained or who are on the run after being named as graft suspects by the military-backed government would be pardoned if they confessed their crimes.
“The government will set up the truth commission as soon as possible in a bid to spur economic activities which have slowed down after the authorities launched their crackdown,” said Syed Anisul Haq, a senior Supreme Court lawyer who is drawing up the proposals for the commission.
“The idea is to offer an amnesty to top businessmen. Their absence has led to the collapse of their enterprises and dragged the whole economy down,” he said.
Members of the business community would also have to return the proceeds of any corrupt deals in order to benefit from the amnesty, he said.
It is the first time Bangladeshi authorities have acknowledged that sweeping reforms aimed at cleaning up a notoriously corrupt political and economic system have had damaging side-effects.
Bangladesh’s military-backed government launched the crackdown in February, a month after it took power following the imposition of a state of emergency and the cancellation of polls over vote-rigging allegations.
It has detained more than 150 prominent figures including two former prime ministers, and fast-track courts have already sentenced more than a dozen former ministers, lawmakers and their family members to between five and 20 years in jail.
The country’s leading trade body, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, has complained that the drive has caused a “climate of fear” that has dampened domestic investment and hit both exports and imports.
Mainul Hosein, law adviser to the interim government, said the government could not afford to ignore the threat to the economy.
“We are not underplaying their crimes, but we are doing it to spur the economy. We now need them for the sake of the country. We want to keep them out of jail in a bid to boost the economy,” he said.
“Can you imagine how many people will lose their jobs if these companies cannot function because of the detention of the businessmen?” Bangladesh’s central bank said last month that the economy had slowed and would miss a seven percent growth target for the financial year ending June 2007.
