Hasan MahmudFive years ago, Nuran Fatema, wife of Environment Minister Hasan Mahmud, was a mere homemaker having assets worth Tk 60,000, as per the minister’s wealth statement before the 9th parliamentary polls.
But since, she had some miracles working for her as her assets turned into a massive Tk 13.74 crore, growing 2,290 times.
The minister argues that there was nothing strange about it as he had transferred to his wife his deep-sea container service “Bismillah Marine Service”, which was launched sometime prior to 2008 polls.
However, Bismillah Marine Service is not a company enlisted with the Shipping Agents Association of Bangladesh, Secretary General of the organisation Harun Meah told The Daily Star.
According to Hasan’s latest statement, he accumulated four times the wealth he had shown back in 2008.
In 2008, he claimed to have assets worth Tk 37.57 lakh, which now stands at Tk 1.72 crore. He also claimed to have taken a loan of Tk 1.93 crore from his wife and three friends.
His annual income now stands at Tk 18.74 lakh, up from Tk 5.29 lakh in 2008.
Over all, the Mahmud couple now officially claims to own a fortune of Tk 15.46 crore, which is a stunning 40-fold increase from a mere Tk 38.17 lakh, including his wife’s Tk 60,000, five years ago.
The minister’s wealth statements of 2008 and 2013 are full of loopholes. For instance, the latest statement puts the asset value of his wife’s company at just Tk 9 lakh while its annual income declared is Tk 1.75 crore.
The 2008 statement showed Tk 1.6 lakh as Fatema’s annual income although she has been declared as a homemaker. Now her total annual income stands at Tk 1.93 crore.
Given that she did not spend a single penny during this period, her five years’ accumulated income should be Tk 9.65 crore, which falls far short of her claimed asset of Tk 13.74 crore.
Born in 1963, Hasan got affiliated with politics during his student life and became the president of Chittagong University unit Chhatra League, pro-Awami League student body.
He became a lawmaker for the first time in 2008. He is also the publicity secretary of ruling Awami League. This year Hasan filed his candidature from Chittagong-7 constituency and has been elected unopposed.
According to his this year’s wealth statement, he earns Tk 1.02 lakh from house rent, Tk 1.40 lakh from shares, saving certificates and bank interests and Tk 16.30 lakh from as remuneration for being a lawmaker and a minister.
He has Tk 6 lakh in cash, Tk 8 lakh bank deposits, shares worth Tk 9.60 lakh, motor vehicles worth Tk 66.8 lakh, gold worth Tk 2.10 lakh, electronic goods of Tk 60,000 and furniture worth Tk 45,000.
Besides, the AL leader owns 31,032 decimal of agricultural land, two pieces of non-agricultural plots worth Tk 16.95 lakh and Tk 14.60 lakh, and a house worth Tk 47.83 lakh (bought in instalment since 2007).
His wife owns Tk 25,000 in cash, Tk 9 lakh as owner of Bismillah Marin Services, shares worth around Tk 9.26 crore, vehicles worth Tk 20.70 lakh and Tk 21 lakh in gold.
She also owns two pieces of non-agricultural land worth Tk 1.78 crore and Tk 38.50 lakh, a building worth Tk 38.5 lakh and office spaces valued Tk 48 lakh and Tk 93.50 lakh.
Hasan said he and his wife had no investment in the capital market and that the shares they owned were of “companies owned by their family”.
He also claimed that they had already sold one of the Bismillah Marine Service’s office spaces at Tk 93.50 lakh and that the land in Chittagong, worth Tk 1.78 crore, was for an orphanage and vocational school of which his wife was a trustee, not the owner.
The minister also said his wife had a loan of Tk 5.75 crore.
According to Hasan’s wealth statement of 2008, he claimed that his wife did not have any gold, but this time he mentioned that his wife had 50 tolas of gold that she got as gift.
Hasan claimed that he had declared the gold in the previous statement but the EC might have missed it.
