A controversial Bangladeshi ‘zero to hero’ businessman, who took advantage of his friendship with former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s son has been sentenced to three years in jail  for failing to submit wealth statement to the anti-corruption commission.
Giasuddin Al-Mamun, a business partner of Khaleda Zia’s elder son Tarique Rahman, was present when a special anti-graft court announced his sentenced on Thursday. The defence lawyers said they would appeal to the high court against the trial court’s judgement.
Mr Mamun, who has been in prison since March 26, is facing 11 more corruption cases. It has been reported that Mr Mamun had confessed to interrogators of the army-led joint forces that he had accumulated wealth through commissions on business deals. Mr Mamun owns a numbers of business firms and industries, a television channel and costly cars. He also built two luxury houses.

Funds siphoned
Officials said Mr Mamun had siphoned off a huge amount of money to several countries where he has bank accounts with direct consent of Tarique Rahman, who used to run a parallel administration from his ‘Hawa Bhaban’ office during the rule of his mother (2001-06).
Mr Tarique, who is now in jail, reportedly admitted that he was misguided by Mr Mamun. A tabloid newspaper has published his signed apology to the people. Former Prime Minister Ms Zia, her sons Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman and several other close relatives are being accused of corruption.
Ms Zia has, however, denied charges and said corruption allegations brought against her and her associates in newspapers are false and fabricated.
“All these are false and baseless,” she said. “Such allegations have been published with an ill motive,” she added.
According to newspaper reports, former minister of state for home affairs Luthfuzzaman Babar reportedly said that he had the consent of Ms Zia and Tarique before taking a bribe of Taka 20 crore from the Bashundhara Group chairman in exchange for not implicating his son in a murder case.