Travel ban imposed on ex-NBR official Matiur, wife and son

A Dhaka court on Monday imposed a travel ban on Md Matiur Rahman, the recently removed president of the National Board of Revenue’s (NBR) Customs, Excise, and VAT Appellate Tribunal, along with his wife Laila Kaniz and son Mushfiqur Rahman Ifat, over allegations of amassing illegal wealth.

Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Mohammad As-Shams Jaglul Hossain issued the order following a petition, according to Aminul Islam, assistant director (prosecution-general) of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

Lawyer Mir Ahammad Ali Salam represented the ACC during the hearing.

On Sunday, Matiur was transferred to the Internal Resources Division of the Ministry of Finance from his NBR position amid widespread criticism and social media uproar over his son’s purchase of a goat worth Tk 15 lakh before Eid-ul-Azha. He also lost his post as a director at state-owned Sonali Bank PLC.

Allegations of amassing illegal wealth surfaced after a video went viral showing Matiur’s son buying a goat for Tk 15 lakh. Matiur has since faced severe criticism over claims of acquiring illegal wealth amounting to thousands of crores in Bangladesh, with alleged investments in Singapore, the United States, Canada, and the UAE.

On Sunday, the ACC also formed a three-member body to investigate these allegations.