The Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has discovered a large quantity of gold ornaments after breaking open two vaults kept under the name of the ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina at the principal branch of Agrani Bank.
The vaults were opened on Tuesday in accordance with Bangladesh Bank’s regulations.
An official of the CIC said that a total of 832 bhori of gold ornaments were recovered after opening vault numbers 751 and 753 at the principal branch.
The entire procedure was carried out in compliance with the relevant rules and regulations of Bangladesh Bank.
Earlier, on September 17, acting on information received from a confidential source, the CIC conducted an operation at the principal branch of Agrani Bank in Dilkusha, Dhaka and seized the two lockers.
According to NBR sources, locker numbers 751 and 753 were registered under the name of Sheikh Hasina at the bank’s former local office section.
The lockers were seized that day on suspicion of tax evasion and financial irregularities. On the same day, another vault kept under her name at a branch of Pubali Bank was opened; however, no gold ornaments or valuables were found there, according to the official.
On September 10, NBR intelligence officials seized another locker (number 128) belonging to Sheikh Hasina at the Motijheel Corporate Branch of Pubali Bank, located in Sena Kalyan Bhaban.
On that day, two of her bank accounts at the same branch were also identified. One account held a fixed deposit (FDR) of approximately Tk12 lakh, while the other had a balance of Tk44 lakh.
