Alhaj Mosaddek Ali Falu (b. 7 April 1960[1]) is a Bangladeshi politician[2] and a former parliamentarian from BNP.[3] He served as the political adviser to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Begum Khaleda Zia[4] between 2001 and 2006. He was in jail[2][4] on grounds of corruption[2] between 2007 and 2008,[2] and is currently out on bail[5]
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Falu began his career in politics as the political adviser to Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia.[4] He became a close companion to the Prime Minister, earning her trust.[6] Evidence of this closeness includes Falu being delegated important duties[6] and accompanying Khaleda Zia during her umrahs,[7] among others.
In light of Khaleda's two-way loyalty strategy[6] Falu was allowed to contest for the 2004 by-election of the Dhaka-10 constituency when BNP parliamentarian M A Mannan's defection to Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh meant that the seat was vacant (defection from a political party automatically results in the parliament seat to be vacated under Article 70 of the Constitution[8]). Falu won the elections, but the polls were considered to be sham by most observers,[9][10] and according to WikiLeaks, including the United States.[6]
He was sworn in hastily, only after 30 minutes of the release of the official gazette, raising questions.[11] It takes at least 6 hours to prepare for oath-taking after the release of a gazette, and swear-ins from other by-elections were held about a week after official results.[11]
Following the resignation of Iajuddin Ahmed's caretaker government in January 2007 and the ascension of an army-backed caretaker government, Falu was among the first of many to be arrested on corruption charges - he was arrested on 5 February 2007.[2][4] Soon after his arrest, 15 spotted deers reared illegally were retrieved from Falu's retreat in Savar,[12] and his Savar retreat was ultimately valued at 153 crore taka ($ 22.5 million). He was further charged on multiple counts.
Falu was found guilty on charges of relief embezzlement[13] on June 2, 2008, after spending over a year in prison. He was sentenced 5 years in prison and a fine of 5.35 lakh taka ($ 7,133) or a further one year.[13] The special court convened within parliament campus.[13]
While in jail, he was entitled to division by virtue of being a former parliamentarian. However, he lost division in December 2008 when he was found to have held a meeting with another politician, Islami Oikya Jote leader Mufti Shahidul Islam at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.[14] Previously, an i-Pod was confiscated from him. He was then sent to Kashimpur jail as a common prisoner. On 18 December 2008, the High Court ruled Falu's detention illegal and ordered bail.[5] He was released on 22 December.[5]
While on bail, Falu tried to make a trip to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with his family in February 2009, and was denied exit by the immigration police.[15]
In another lawsuit regarding the accumulation of wealth illegally and withholding information on assets, the Court halted grafts case[16] and asked the government to explain why the lawsuit should not be scrapped.[16]
He was granted anticipatory bail on another relief embezzlement charge in August 2010.[17]
Mosaddek Ali Falu continued to be a close aide of Khaleda Zia after Zia and Falu were released from prison and the caretaker regime ended. He was selected into the advisory council, now consisting of 32 members,[18] following the Fifth National Council of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.[19][20] He was a regular part of Zia's entourage to umrah while she was Prime Minister; he continued to accompany her for umrah to Saudi Arabia during September 2010[7] and April 2011.[21]
It was rumored in late 2010 that Falu had submitted a resignation letter to exempt himself from the advisory council[18] soon after he was appointed. It is believed that clash with other influential party leaders and expectation of a more important post prompted the resignation.[18] Zia had neither received the resignation, nor had Falu withdrawn it. Although Falu denied sending any such letters, Falu was never seen active in politics since then.[18]
Falu is the managing director of the private Bengali language channel NTV since 2001, and the Chairman since 2003.[1] Among other businesses he also owns the Bengali language newspaper Amar Desh.[15] Given that NTV's news is avidly followed in the country, Falu can be considered a media mogul.
He also is the chairman of a large private sector bank in the country. His industrial investments include a joint venture with China for manufacturing ceramics, steel fabrication manufacturing company, health care, and consumer products manufacturing company.[1]
The probe committee of the 2011 share market scam in Bangladesh identified Mosaddek Ali Falu among the 20 individuals involved in masterminding the scam to their personal benefits;[22][23] specific evidences were available against Falu according to the report.[22] The probe committee found Falu, among others, to operate multiple omnibus accounts used perform the chicanery.[24] However, the Finance Minister AMA Muhith stated that the state would neither disclose the names of the accused officially nor take punitive measures without further investigation.[22]