Ex-state minister for housing Sharif Ahmed jailed 18 years

Former state minister for Housing and Public Works Sharif Ahmed has been sentenced to seven years in prison in each of three separate corruption cases related to RAJUK’s plot allocations in Dhaka’s Purbachal New Town project, totaling 18 years.

The verdict was delivered by Judge Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka’s Fifth Special Judge Court around 11:45am on Thursday (27 November).

In these three cases, the court also sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to seven years in each case, totalling 21 years.

Additionally, in one of the cases, Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy was sentenced to five years in prison and fined Tk 1 lakh, while her daughter Saima Wazed Putul received a five-year prison sentence from the same court.

Earlier, Dhaka Special Judge Court-5 on November 23 had fixed today for delivering the judgment, after both the prosecution and defence completed their arguments on that day.

The court on July 31, 2025, framed charges in the three cases and issued arrest warrants for the accused. A total of 29 witnesses testified in the cases.