Tabith's matter can be dealt with after polls: HC

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Bangla Tribune Report
Published : 17:15, Jan 27, 2020 | Updated : 17:28, Jan 27, 2020

A general view of the Supreme Court building of Bangladesh. File Photo/Sazzad HossainThe High Court observed that the matter of Dhaka North mayor aspirant Tabith Awal allegedly concealing wealth information can be dealt with after the Feb 1 voting before rejecting a petition seeking to scrap his candidacy.
On Monday (Jan 27), the bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Md Khairul Alam turned down a petition by a former Appellate Division judge.
"The election will be held after four days. And verifying details in the affidavit as well as dispose of the matter is time consuming. The parties have the option to raise the issue in court after the election when the results are in. It would be better for both parties if the matter is pressed after the polls," the court said in its observation.
Petitioner Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury argued that BNP-nominated Tabith has concealed wealth information in his affidavit filed with the Election Commission (EC).
He moved the High Court on Sunday (Jan 26), two days after serving the EC with a legal notice.
BNP mayor aspirant for Dhaka North City Corporation Tabith Awa speaks during an exclusive interview with Bangla Tribune. PHOTO/Nashirul IslamAccording to media reports, Tabith did not disclose in his affidavit that he is one of the owners of a company in Singapore.
“The firm is worth $2 million which is a huge sum of money for any country in the world. But Tabith did not include it in his affidavit. His nomination must be cancelled,” Justice Choudhury told the media on Thursday (Jan 23) after filing the complaint with EC.
Tabith is one of the three owner-directors of NFM Energy (Singapore) PTE LTD while the two other owners are his brothers Tafsir Awal and Tajwar Awal, according to reports published earlier this month.
The company holds significant stakes in Bangladesh Petrochemical Company Limited (BPCL), of which Tajwar is a director as a representative of NFM Energy, say media reports.
BPCL is not included in the list of 37 companies that Tabith disclosed to the Election Commission as his business interests.
Tabith is the son of BNP leader Abdul Awal Mintoo. The family had been named in the Paradise Papers, leaked documents that showed how the wealthy families secretly invested in offshore tax havens.
He had declined to comment on the matter during a recent interview with a Dhaka-based online newspaper.

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