A Dhaka court has barred Jatiya Party (JP) Chairman GM Quader and his wife, Sherrifa Quader, from leaving the country over allegations of amassing illegal wealth.
The order was issued on Monday by Acting Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Ibrahim Mia, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) spokesperson Akhtarul Islam confirmed.
ACC Deputy Director Rezaul Karim filed the petition on Sunday seeking a travel ban on the couple. In the petition, the ACC stated that an inquiry is underway against the former Rangpur-3 lawmaker and JP chief for acquiring assets beyond known sources of income. According to the ACC, GM Quader and his family members own properties both at home and abroad, and there are fears the couple could transfer their assets and flee the country—potentially obstructing the investigation.
The Jatiya Party, which sat in opposition during the Awami League’s three consecutive terms in power, has been facing internal turmoil following the July uprising that reshaped Bangladesh’s political landscape. GM Quader has largely remained out of the public eye since then.
First elected to parliament in 1996, Quader later served as Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly. Between 2009 and 2014, he held ministerial posts in the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry as well as the Commerce Ministry.
Recently, a faction of senior JP leaders moved to remove Quader from leadership, accusing him of keeping the party aligned too closely with the Awami League. On August 9, the faction loyal to Raushan Ershad joined forces with groups led by Anisul Islam Mahmud and Mujibul Haque Chunnu, forming a new committee. In that conference, Mahmud was named chairman, former secretary-general ABM Ruhul Amin Hawlader was appointed secretary-general, Kazi Firoz Rashid became senior co-chairman, and Mujibul Haque Chunnu was elected executive chairman.
Sherrifa Quader previously served as a reserved seat MP in the 11th National Parliament. She contested Dhaka-18 in the 12th parliamentary election but was defeated, despite the then-ruling Awami League ceding 26 seats, including hers, to the Jatiya Party.
