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The trial of Koko, who is in Bangkok for medical treatment since July 2008, and Ismail Hossain Saimon, son of former shipping minister Akbar Hossain, began for alleged money laundering Taka 23 crore, the Star Online reported. Koko and Saimon were indicted for money laundering on November 30 last year.
Justice Mohammad Mozammel Hossain of special judge's court-3 recorded the statement of complainant Abu Sayeed, deputy director of Anti-Corruption Commission the report said. Hossain had framed the charges against the duo in their absence and said the trial would continue in their absence.
The anti-graft body has accused them of siphoning off money from China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd and Siemens for helping them win government contracts. China Harbour got a Taka 351 crore contract to set up New Mooring Container Terminal and Siemens, a Taka 239 crore contract to supply and install equipment for Teletalk, the state-owned mobile phone operator. Koko, who was arrested in September 2007, on graft charges and paroled for treatment abroad in July the following year, is now in Bangkok. Saimon has been on the run since the ACC filed the money-laundering case against him and Koko on March 17, 2009.
A Bangladeshi court on Monday rejected a petition of Tarique Rahman, Koko's elder brother, seeking relief in a money-laundering case. Bangladesh's ACC on October 26, 2009, filed the case with a Dhaka court against Tarique and his business partner Giasuddin Al Mamun on charges of siphoning of Taka 204.1 million to Singapore between 2003 and 2007. Bangladesh's appellate division upheld the high court verdict rejecting a petition challenging the money-laundering case against Tarique, the bdnews24 online reported. Tarique, the senior vice-chairman of BNP, has 14 cases filed against him on various charges. He has been undergoing treatment in the
The ACC in November 2008 formally accused Koko of siphoning off 28.84 lakh Singaporean dollars and USD 9.32 lakh out of the country. Prosecution lawyers said 30 people were expected to appear as witnesses to testify against Koko and Simon, who was declared fugitive since he was on the run after the installation of the interim government in January 2007.
Koko was arrested on September 2, 2007 on corruption charges under a massive anti-graft campaign under emergency rules and paroled for treatment abroad in July 2008.
According to the chargesheet, Koko took bribes from China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd and Siemens for setting up New Mooring Container Terminal in southeastern port city of Chittagong for supplying and installing equipment for the state-owned Teletalk mobile phone operator respectively. Authorities in Singapore in December 2008 froze assets worth USD 1.6 million associated with a company Koko established in 2004.
An earlier World Bank report had alleged embezzlement of several million dollars by Koko as "an example of stealing national assets".
In a related development, Prothom Alo newspaper on Tuesday reported that a Singapore court handed down a Singaporean businessman a penalty of 12,000 Singapore dollars for handling Koko's money. Earlier media reports said the US authorities on January 8, 2009 moved a legal process in an American court in District of Columbia to recover funds worth USD 3 million, allegedly obtained by Koko from Siemens and kept with a Singapore-based bank.
The Awami League-led government earlier scrapped Koko's parole, but the Supreme Court stayed the order in October, allowing him to stay abroad for six more weeks. Finance minister AMA Muhith recently said Bangladesh will enact a law to recover siphoned off money. In another related development, a separate court in Dhaka on Tuesday deferred for the fourth time the hearing of another money laundering case of Koko's elder brother Tarique.