10kg gold seized from Hasina’s bank lockers

DHAKA:

Anti-corruption authorities in Bangladesh have seized about 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of gold worth about $1.3 million from bank lockers belonging to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, officials said on Wednesday.

Officials from the Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) of the National Board of Revenue said the discovery was made after opening lockers that had been seized in September.
“Following a court order, we opened the lockers and found about 9.7 kilograms of gold belonging to the former prime minister,” a senior CIC official told AFP, requesting anonymity.

The haul included gold coins, bars and jewellery.

Investigators said Hasina had failed to deposit some of the gifts she received while in office at the state treasury, known as “Toshakhana”, as required by law.
The National Board of Revenue is also probing alleged tax evasion and examining whether Hasina declared the recovered gold in her tax filings.