Bangladesh woke up to political shockwaves on Wednesday after the country’s tax authorities seized what they say is a long-rumoured “secret locker” belonging to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Acting on confidential intelligence, the Central Intelligence Unit of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) sealed locker number 128 at Pubali Bank’s Motijheel branch in Dhaka’s Army Kalyan Bhavan.
The Dhaka Tribune reported that the locker is registered in Hasina’s own name, igniting intense speculation nationwide about what might lie inside. Citizens have flooded social media with questions about whether the contents include cash, gold ornaments or even sensitive documents.
Alongside the locker, investigators have also frozen two accounts linked to Hasina at the same branch. According to NBR sources, one account contains a fixed deposit receipt worth 12 lakh taka (about Rs 8.71 lakh) and the other holds deposits of 44 lakh taka (about Rs 31.94 lakh). Together the authorities have moved to secure assets worth 56 lakh taka.
Officials said the accounts and the locker have been taken over for thorough examination. Initial intelligence points to the possibility of gold and documents being stored inside, but there has been no official confirmation. An NBR officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “The exact inventory will only be revealed after further investigation.”
This action comes nearly a year after Sheikh Hasina’s dramatic resignation and departure from Bangladesh in August, following massive student-led protests that toppled her Awami League government. Since then, the interim administration has launched wide-ranging probes into alleged tax evasion and corruption linked to the former leader and her family.
The seizure of the Pubali Bank locker is being portrayed by officials as part of this broader anti-corruption campaign. Searches are reportedly underway in other banks as well. The interim government says the move represents a decisive step toward accountability, while Awami League loyalists have denounced it as an act of political vendetta.
The NBR, for its part, has stressed that all proceedings will remain within the law. “Every asset, account and document will be examined under proper procedure,” an official remarked, hinting that more disclosures could emerge in the weeks ahead.
For now, Bangladesh is waiting to see what the locker actually contains. Will investigators uncover gold, foreign currency or explosive documents that reshape the political narrative? Or will the findings prove inconclusive and deepen controversy over the interim government’s approach?
Whatever the outcome, the discovery of Sheikh Hasina’s locker has become a focal point of both political intrigue and a high-stakes financial investigation in Bangladesh.
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