The High Court has issued a rule questioning the legality of the Anti-Corruption Commission's (ACC) inaction in investigating allegations of a $5 billion (approximately Tk 60,000 crore) embezzlement from the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP). The allegations involve former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and her niece Tulip Siddiq, who reportedly siphoned off the funds through Malaysian banks.
The High Court bench comprising Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Mubina Asaf issued the rule on Sunday in response to a writ petition.
The petition was filed by Bobby Hajjaj, chairman of the Nationalist Democratic Movement (NDM), challenging the ACC's inaction in probing the allegations. Advocate Barrister Sahedul Azam Tamal represented the petitioner in court.
The court has sought an explanation from the ACC and 13 other respondents, including the secretaries of the Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Ministry, the Science and Technology Ministry, and the Home Ministry, along with Sheikh Hasina, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Tulip Siddiq, and Tarique Ahmed Siddique.
The writ petition was submitted following reports published on 19 August, alleging large-scale corruption involving Sheikh Hasina's family in the RNPP project. The reports claimed that the funds were siphoned off through Malaysian banks during Hasina’s tenure.
According to the petition, the embezzlement involved transferring project funds to offshore accounts, raising questions about financial mismanagement in Bangladesh’s largest energy project.
The High Court has directed the respondents to explain why the ACC's inaction should not be declared unlawful and has also sought progress on initiating an investigation into the alleged corruption.
