Seize Sikder family’s Tk 133 crore in Thailand

A Dhaka court has ordered the freezing of investments worth 353 million Thai baht (about Tk 133 crore) in seven companies in Thailand by former National Bank Chairman Zainul Haque Sikder's three children.

The order -- passed by Judge Md Sabbir Faiz of the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court in Dhaka on Sunday -- came following an application by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Assistant Director Md Ashikur Rahman, said ACC's Public Relations Officer Aktarul Islam yesterday.

The seven companies -- registered in Thailand between April 2, 2004 and June 23, 2015 -- are Koi Restaurant Co., Sikder Group, Sikder Holdings, R & R Restaurant Group, Jirana Co., JR Architects International Co. and Sikder & Garret Development Co., according to court documents.

Zainul's sons Ron Haque Sikder and Rick Haque Sikder and daughter Parveen Haque Sikder are shareholders of the companies, which are located in four districts of Bangkok.

Freezing the assets in the seven companies is necessary "to protect the interests of the government and ensure justice", said the petition by the ACC.

A seven-member joint investigation team of the ACC is looking into allegations of corruption, arbitrariness, anonymous embezzlement of public funds, illegal lending in exchange for bribes and money laundering against the Sikder family.

During the course of the investigation, Sikder's children attempted to transfer both immovable and movable assets abroad. This posed a risk of obstructing the inquiry, according to the ACC.

Since the fall of the Awami League regime in August last year, the courts have imposed a travel ban on the Sikder family; ordered the confiscation of 100 acres of land in Dhaka's Purbachal allocated in the name of Ron Haque Sikder, the managing director of Sikder Group; ordered the freezing of 42 BO (beneficiary owner accounts) held by members of the Sikder family; and ordered the confiscation of 15 buildings and floors registered in the names of Sikder family members.

Parveen was an MP of the 11th parliament from reserved seats for women (Shariatpur).