ACC prosecutes Sadiq Abdullah over failure to submit wealth statement

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against former Barishal City Corporation mayor Serneabat Sadiq Abdullah for failing to submit his statement of assets within the stipulated time.

On Tuesday, ACC Director General Md Akhtar Hossain said the case was filed in Dhaka by the commission’s deputy director M Rashedur Reza.

According to the first information report, Sadiq was served a notice under Section 26(1) of the ACC Act, directing him to submit a detailed statement of his assets. His failure to comply within the prescribed timeframe constitutes a punishable offence under Section 26(2) of the same law, the ACC said.

The graftbuster said the action followed an allegation received at its headquarters, prompting an inquiry into the former mayor. During the inquiry, preliminary findings indicated the authenticity of allegations that he had acquired and possessed illegal assets beyond known sources of income.

Based on these findings, the ACC decided on Oct 16, 2025 to issue a formal notice requiring Sadiq to submit his asset declaration.

On Oct 26, an ACC constable went to his Kalabagan address in Dhaka to serve the notice but did not find him there. On Nov 4, officials again failed to locate him at his Barishal city address.

Later that day, the original copy of the asset declaration form was affixed to the door of his residence in Agailjhara Upazila, thereby formally serving the notice.

The ACC said Sadiq did not submit the required asset statement within the stipulated 21 working days following the issuance of the notice on Nov 4. As a result, the case was filed under Section 26(2) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004.

The former Barishal city mayor is the son of Awami League leader and former MP Abul Hasanat Abdullah, a cousin of the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Sadiq is the general secretary of Barishal city Awami League and served as mayor of Barishal City Corporation from 2018 to 2023.

Following the fall of the Awami League government on Aug 5, 2024, attacks, vandalism, looting and arson were reported at the homes and establishments of party leaders in Barishal, during which Sadiq’s ancestral home was also vandalised and set on fire.