A Dhaka court has imposed a travel ban on former Managing Director (MD) of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA), Md Abdus Salam Bepari, and his wife Mahbubunnesa.

Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Sabbir Faiz passed the order on Tuesday (10 March) following a petition filed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police. The information was confirmed by the bench assistant of the concerned court, Md Riaz Hossain.

Alongside the travel restriction, the court also directed 21 institutions and authorities to provide details of assets and other relevant information related to the accused.

The institutions ordered to submit information include the Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms, Department of Registration, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), National Board of Revenue (NBR), Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB), Dhaka North City Corporation, Dhaka South City Corporation, Chattogram City Corporation, Dhaka Stock Exchange, Chittagong Stock Exchange, National Savings Directorate, Bangladesh Post Office, Immigration authorities, Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), mobile financial service providers Nagad, bKash and Rocket, the Department of Passports, Pabna District Registrar and Dhaka WASA.

According to the petition, the accused and individuals associated with them allegedly acquired substantial assets illegally and laundered money abroad without approval from Bangladesh Bank, investing in properties in Canada and other countries.

The CID said that preventing the accused from leaving the country and collecting financial information from the relevant institutions is necessary to ensure a proper investigation into the alleged money laundering.

Abdus Salam Bepari had been appointed as the managing director of Dhaka WASA through a controversial process during the final period of the interim government. It was reported that he submitted his resignation letter to the secretary of the Local Government Ministry on 8 March.