DHAKA, Bangladesh, October 08, SPA — A court sentenced Bangladesh’s ex-home minister to 13 years in prison Monday for hiding illegally acquired wealth, a lawyer said. Judge M. Foriz Alam of a special anti-corruption court convicted Mohammad Nasim of failing to disclose wealth
worth 10.26 million takas (US$185,294; ¤211,828) that did not tally with his declared income, Faruk Quazi, a lawyer attending the proceedings said.
Nasim, who served as the powerful home minister during 1996-2001, was arrested early this year in a government crackdown on corruption, the Associated Press reported.
The court also handed Nasim’s wife, Laila Arzuman Banu, a three-year prison term for abetting her husband. Banu was tried in absentia. The court fined the couple 1 million takas (US$14,705;
¤16,810) and ordered confiscation of their illegally acquired assets.