Saima Wazed Putul, the daughter of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, currently serves as the regional director for South-East Asia. Ms Putul has been accused of laundering almost $700 million from Bangladesh to Canada, where she received citizenship through foreign investment.
Bangladesh’s anti-corruption commission filed a case against Ms Putul for running a racketeering gang in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from the Indian capital, Delhi and collected extortion money from Bangladeshi businesses. Ms Putul offered infrastructure projects in Bangladesh to Indian companies in return for large sums of kickbacks.
According to the Anti-Corruption Commission, Saima Wazed Putul, the daughter of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, was a Canadian citizen when Bangladesh nominated her as the World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for South-East Asia.
Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission, or ACC, is set to write to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health, seeking action to remove Saima Wazed Putul from the World Health Organization.
The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit has frozen the bank accounts of Shuchona Foundation, a non-profit organisation founded by Saima Wazed Putul, daughter of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Since the fall of the Awami League government, over 100 cases have been filed against Bangladesh’s longest-serving prime minister.
Several cases have also been filed against her daughter, including one by the ACC over allegations of concealment of information and abuse of power related to land allocation in Purbachal.
The BFIU, in a letter on Sunday, stated that transactions in any bank accounts operated in the firm’s name would remain suspended for 30 days under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
The accounts of the foundation, established in 2014, were frozen for suspicious transactions, BFIU officials said.
Putul, Muzharul Mannan and Zain Bari Rizvi are three of the foundation’s trustees.
According to a senior official of a private financial institution, the directive was sent to various banks and financial institutions on Sunday.
In its letter, the BFIU invoked Section 23(1)(c) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012, instructing the suspension of transactions in the foundation’s accounts for 30 days.
According to its website, the Suchona Foundation, established in 2014, is a non-profit entity supporting individuals with mental disabilities, neurodevelopmental disorders, autism, and mental health challenges. Saima serves as its founder and chairperson.
The organisation works to help people with mental disabilities, neurological disabilities, autism, and mental health issues.
Apart from Saima, the foundation’s trustees include Mazharul Mannan, Md Shamsuzzaman, Zain Bari Rizvi, and Nazmul Hasan, whose names were also mentioned in the BFIU directive.
Bangladesh’s interim government is preparing to remove Saima Wazed, the daughter of former PM Sheikh Hasina, from her WHO position amid corruption allegations. Wazed remains in her role as an ACC investigation continues, with political instability in Bangladesh drawing international scrutiny.
The Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is preparing to send a letter to the World Health Organization (WHO) requesting the removal of Saima Wazed Putul, the daughter of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, from her position as regional director of the WHO Southeast Asia Region.
Multiple senior ACC officials confirmed to The Daily Star that the letter will be dispatched today through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Health and Family Welfare.
The letter claimed that Putul’s credentials were fabricated and purely formal.
The letter further accused Hasina of using state resources to benefit her daughter, citing state-funded trips, including to the 2023 G-20 summit in India and the 76th WHO conference in Delhi.
These actions allegedly led to significant financial losses for the Bangladesh government and harmed the nation’s international reputation.
Additionally, Putul is accused of criminal activities, including the illegal acquisition of a 10-katha plot in Purbachal Newtown’s diplomatic zone.
A senior ACC official confirmed that the graft watchdog has prepared a summary of the corruption charges against Putul, and letters will be sent to the ministries within a couple of days.
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