A Chattogram court on Sunday ordered the issuance of an Interpol red notice for former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed and his wife Rukmila Zaman, hours after the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) seized 23 sacks of documents linked to their alleged foreign assets and money laundering.
Acting Senior Chattogram Metropolitan Special Judge Md Abdur Rahman passed the order after a petition from the ACC. ACC Public Prosecutor Mokarram Hossain confirmed the court’s approval.
The ACC had sought the notice on 18 September, accusing the couple of siphoning millions of taka abroad during Javed’s tenure as minister in 2019–2020. Javed and Rukmila already face multiple corruption cases.
Earlier, on 24 July, ACC Deputy Director Md Moshiur Rahman filed a case accusing 31 people including the couple, the former UCBL chairman, family members, and company officials. The case alleged that Javed and his family used five companies under Aramit Group officials’ names to secure Tk25 crore in loans from UCBL, which were later misappropriated abroad.
The recent ACC raid was carried out at the Shikalbaha home of Md Elias Talukdar, Rukmila’s driver. The 23 sacks of documents included records of property purchases, rent collection, bill payments, and other transactions. Officials said the papers were moved several times—from Aramit Group’s Kalurghat facility to Elias’s house, then to his cousin Osman Talukdar’s home—before being seized.
Initial checks show the couple’s assets may spread beyond the UK, US, Singapore, and Dubai to India, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Cambodia. Investigators said the huge volume of documents will take time to review before final reports are sent to ACC headquarters.
Allegations of Javed’s overseas wealth first surfaced before last year’s national election, which led to his removal from the cabinet. The ACC says he faces six earlier cases involving Tk1.24 billion in embezzled funds.
On Wednesday, another case was filed against Javed, Rukmila, and eight others for illegal wealth, bribery, and money laundering. That same night, ACC officials raided Double Mooring and arrested two of Javed’s close associates: Utpal Pal, AGM of accounts at Aramit, and Abdul Aziz, AGM and owner of Imperial Trading. Utpal, said to be Javed’s handler of overseas assets, and Aziz are now on five-day remand.
Javed fled to London with his family on 5 August 2024, after the fall of the Awami League government during a mass uprising.
