DHAKA, Bangladesh: Bangladesh’s anti-corruption authorities have seized approximately 10 kilogrammes of gold, worth around $1.3 million, from bank lockers belonging to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, officials said on Wednesday.
Officials from the Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) of the National Board of Revenue said the discovery was made after opening lockers that had been seized in September.
“Following a court order, we opened the lockers and found about 9.7 kilogrammes of gold belonging to the former prime minister,” a senior CIC official said, as cited by AFP. The haul included gold coins, bars and jewellery.
Investigators said Hasina had failed to deposit some of the gifts she received while in office at the state treasury, known as the Toshakhana, as required by law.
The National Board of Revenue is also probing alleged tax evasion and examining whether Hasina declared the recovered gold in her tax filings.
Earlier this month, the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina to death over a deadly crackdown against a student-led uprising.
The United Nations says up to 1,400 people were killed in the crackdown as Hasina tried to cling to power.
