Charges framed against 'goat scandal' Matiur in graft case

A court has framed charges against former National Board of Revenue (NBR) official Matiur Rahman, who gained notoriety in the 'goat scandal', in a case over acquiring assets worth nearly Tk 5.5 crore beyond his known sources of income. With this, the formal trial of the case has begun.

On Monday (August 3), Dhaka Divisional Special Judge B. M. Tarikul Kabir rejected the accused's discharge petition and ordered the framing of charges . The same day, the court set September 14 for the next hearing to record witness testimony . Public Prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam confirmed the matter.

During the hearing, Public Prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam moved the charge-framing petition on behalf of the ACC . On the other hand, Dhaka Bar Association President Advocate Anwar Zahid Bhuiyan and Advocate Alhaj Md Borhan Uddin, a prosecutor in the BDR mutiny case, moved the discharge petition on behalf of the accused . Matiur Rahman was produced in court during the hearing. When the charges against him were read out, he pleaded not guilty and sought justice . Later, when the defence filed a bail petition, the ACC opposed it . After the hearing, the court rejected the bail petition .

According to the case documents, the ACC filed the case against Matiur Rahman on December 15, 2024 . He was accused of acquiring Tk 5,28,75,939 in assets beyond his known income and concealing information on Tk 1,27,66,216 in assets .

After concluding the investigation, the ACC approved the charge sheet on February 3 . The charge sheet stated that he had concealed information on Tk 1,24,25,211 worth of assets in his wealth statement . Additionally, he was accused of acquiring Tk 5,40,97,672 in assets beyond his known sources of income through abuse of power, bribery and corruption while in government service. Charges have been brought against him under sections 26(2) and 27(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, and section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 .

It may be mentioned that Matiur Rahman was arrested by Dhaka Metropolitan Detective (DB) Police on January 14, 2025, and has been in jail since . In 2024, ahead of Eid-ul-Adha, he came under intense public scrutiny after his son, Mushfiqur Rahman Ifat, was seen on social media buying a goat worth Tk 15 lakh from Sadik Agro in Dhaka's Mohammadpur .