Staff Correspondent:

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) says it has identified eight luxury cars and two houses in the United States linked to Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the son of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, as part of a corruption and money laundering probe.

The ACC alleges that Joy, also Hasina’s former advisor on information and communication technology, abused his position during the Awami League government to launder money through hundi and other illegal channels.

The assets, worth more than Tk 600 million, were acquired beyond his known sources of income, according to the graftbusters.

The vehicles include a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, a Mercedes-Benz SL-Class, a Lexus GX 460, a Land Rover Range Rover, a McLaren 720S, a Mercedes-Benz AMG GT and two Jeep Grand Cherokees.

One of the cars is registered under the name of his former wife, Christina Wazed. The houses are estimated to have cost more than Tk 540 million.

“The investigation is ongoing,” ACC Director General Md Akhtar Hossain said, adding that assets could be seized and presented as evidence in court.

The case, filed on Aug 14, 2024, accuses Joy of corruption, suspicious transactions and money laundering between 2000 and June 2024.

Hasina was ousted from power by a student-led mass uprising on Aug 5, 2024, and fled to India with her sister Sheikh Rehana, ending the Awami League’s 15-year rule. Joy, who has long been based in the US, remained there.

Since Hasina’s fall, the ACC has launched a series of corruption cases against members of her family, including her daughter Saima Wazed Putul, as well as Rehana and her children — British MP Tulip Siddiq, Radwan Mujib Siddiq and Azmina Siddique Ruponti. In all, six cases have been filed, naming 23 accused, including Hasina herself.

Two Dhaka special courts have already ordered trials to begin in one of the cases. The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit has meanwhile frozen Tk 63.5 billion across 124 bank accounts belonging to Hasina and her relatives.