Bangladesh arrests renowned economist Abul Barkat over corruption charges

The Detective Branch (DB) of the Bangladesh Police arrested the country’s renowned economist Abul Barkat on corruption charges after a midnight search on Thursday, July 10, according to news agency ANI.Nasirul Islam, Joint Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DB) reportedly said Barkat was an accused in an Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) case and will be handed over to the commission.
Aruni Barkat, Barkat’s daughter, is determined to pursue legal recourse to fight the case. She said more than 20 people showed up posing as DB police without any warrant and arrested her father.
“Last night, 20/25 people, posing as DB police, entered my father’s bedroom and took him away….We are ready to fight the case brought against him legally,” Aruni Barkat told ANI.

Bangladesh arrests prominent economist Abul Barkat

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She said they were not intimated of the case or any investigation about it.”We could know about the case from media reports. No one told us about the case. No one came to investigate. If they had come to investigate, we would have definitely cooperated”, she added.

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Barkat previously served as chairman of the state-owned Janata Bank during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s tenure. According to local media reports, he is among 30 individuals named in a corruption case involving the embezzlement of several crores of taka through loan fraud linked to a company called Anontex. The case was filed during the Awami League government.

A professor at the University of Dhaka, Barkat was the Chair of the Department of Economics at the university and is widely regarded as an influential voice in the field of political economy and human development in Bangladesh.

Known for his extensive research on contemporary economic growth, land rights, and the marginalisation of minorities, Barkat has authored several significant works including Development as Conscientisation, Political Economy of Khas Land in Bangladesh, and An Inquiry into Causes and Consequences of Deprivation of Hindu Minorities in Bangladesh through the Vested Property Act. He has also written prolifically in Bengali on political and economic issues.

Professor Barkat is also the honorary Chief Advisor of the Human Development Research Centre (HDRC), a Bangladesh-based socio-economic research organisation.

Barkat served as the elected president of the Bangladesh Economic Association from 2010 to 2011.