Dhaka, Jul 2 – Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Sunday said it has been proved in courts of different countries, including the USA and Singapore, that BNP Chairperson’s sons Tarique Rahman and late Arafat Rahman Koko have money stashed away in Swiss banks.“But there’s no proof that any Awami League leader has deposited money in Swiss banks,” he said while talking to reporters after a post-Eid review meeting at the Secretariat.
Quader, also Road Transport and Bridges Minister, came up with the claim hard on the heels of BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s allegation that the ruling party leaders have siphoned off their ill-gotten money into Swiss banks.
About BNP’s demand for Army deployment during the next general election, he said the Election Commission will deploy Army, if it deems it necessary, the way BNP had deployed it as the striking force in the polls during their tenure.
The minister claimed that the Eid vacation was comparatively comfortable for people this time when there were less road accidents and traffic jams.
About using hooters in the vehicles of VIPs, he said there is no need of showing charisma using these red-blue lights.
Mentioning that he does not use hooters in his vehicle, Quader said he will place the issue before the Cabinet. “This has already been stopped in many countries.”
The Swiss National Bank launched a series of annual reports titled ‘Banks in Switzerland 2016’ on Thursday, revealing that deposits by Bangladeshis in Switzerland’s different banks rose by about 20 percent year-on-year in 2016.
Accusing the ruling party men of siphoning off their ill-gotten huge money, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia on Saturday night demanded the government disclose the names of those Bangladeshis deposited money with Swiss banks.
“Around Tk 5.5 thousand crore has been siphoned off this year. Newspapers ran reports that many Bangladeshis have deposited huge money with Swiss banks. We want to know the identities of those who did it and the amount of their money,” she had said. – UNB
