Dismissing the allegation of siphoning off money, DATCO Group chairman Dr Moosa Bin Shamsher on Thursday said the graft allegation raised against him is false, fabricated and baseless.
“The graft allegation raised against me is false, fabricated and baseless. I earned most of my money through business abroad. I didn’t siphon off any money,” he told reporters in front of the ACC head office after having grilled by the ACC.
About the country’s economy, Moosa said, “Bangladesh is standing on remittance…had it not been the case Bangladesh’s condition would have been worse than Somalia.“
Expressing his interest to invest in the much-talked-about Padma Bridge Project, he said: “Today, I officially told the ACC about Padma Bridge that about US$ 3 billion is needed to construct the bridge from Goalanda to Aricha-Nagarbari. If the money remained frozen in the Swiss Bank is released, I’ll invest that in the bridge. I also want to invest in some other sectors.”
About the reports published in international media, Moosa said the press reports cannot be a vital evidence for proving graft allegations.
The ACC on Thursday interrogated Moosa over allegedly siphoning off money and accumulating wealth illegally.
ACC deputy director Mir Zoynul Abedin Shibly started interrogating Moosa at 10 am and continued it till 1 pm at the ACC head office, ACC public relations officer Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya told UNB.
Earlier, on December 4, the anti-graft watchdog asked the DATCO Group chairman to appear before it today (Dec 18) to face grilling for the allegations.
Moosa Bin Shamsher featured in cover stories of The Sunday Telegraph Magazine (London) and many other business magazines, including Business Asia, revealing that he has accumulated wealth worth about US$ 7 billion.
Considering the reports published in international media about his lifestyle, income and income sources, the ACC on November 3 this year decided to launch a probe against Moosa.
The notice the ACC sent to Moosa mentioned that there was an allegation that Tk 51,000 crore of Moosa is frozen in Swiss bank.
Moosa Bin Shamsher, the chairman and CEO of DATCO Group and a pioneer of manpower export from Bangladesh, drew flak for purportedly being a prominent name in the international weapons industry during the 1970s and 1980s.
It is also alleged that Moosa Bin Shamsher has had Swiss bank accounts with 7 million frozen US dollars because of ‘irregular’ transactions.
Prothom Alo