Court Orders Arrest of Masud Uddin in Anti-Corruption Case

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A Dhaka court on Monday ordered the formal arrest of Lieutenant General (Retd.) Masud Uddin Chowdhury in a corruption case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over allegations of embezzling BDT 1.19 billion (approximately $10.7 million USD) related to sending workers to Malaysia.

Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md. Sabbir Faiz issued the order following a hearing. ACC Prosecutor Delwar Jahan Rumi confirmed the development, stating that Masud Uddin was subsequently ordered to be sent back to jail.

Masud Uddin, a prominent former military official during the 2007-08 caretaker government period and a former Member of Parliament for the Feni-3 constituency, was brought to the court from prison on Monday morning. The hearing commenced around 11:45 AM, where Prosecutor Rumi argued in favor of formally arresting him in the current case.

The investigating officer of the case, ACC Assistant Director Abul Kalam Azad, had filed an application on March 25 to show Masud Uddin arrested. The application alleged that Masud Uddin and others colluded to abuse government power through criminal breach of trust, dishonestly accepting excessive fees from 7,124 workers intending to go to Malaysia. This allegedly resulted in the embezzlement of BDT 1,19,32,70,000.

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A case was initially filed against Masud Uddin and others on March 11 concerning these allegations. The ACC’s application further contended that his formal arrest in this case was crucial as he might obstruct the investigation if released on bail.

Masud Uddin was initially arrested on the night of March 23 from his residence in Dhaka’s Baridhara DOHS area in connection with a human trafficking case filed with Paltan Police Station. He has since been shown arrested in multiple other cases and subjected to several rounds of remand.