BANGLADESH: A Bangladeshi court has ordered the seizure of cricketer Shakib Al Hasan’s assets, marking the latest legal trouble for the sports star due to his association with the country’s former leader.
Shakib is a former lawmaker from the party of autocratic ex-leader Sheikh Hasina, who was overthrown in a student-led uprising last year and fled to neighbouring India by helicopter.
His connections to Hasina have made him a target of public anger, and he is among dozens under investigation for murder related to a deadly police crackdown on protesters during the uprising.
Although he has not been charged with those allegations, he is currently facing prosecution on fraud charges for allegedly bouncing cheques totalling more than $300,000.
On Monday, a magistrate in the capital, Dhaka, ordered the seizure of his assets after the court issued a warrant for Shakib’s arrest in January.
At the time of Hasina’s government collapse, Shakib was participating in a domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Canada and has not returned to Bangladesh since.
The left-arm allrounder has played 71 Test matches, 247 One Day Internationals, and 129 Twenty20 matches for Bangladesh, achieving a total of 712 wickets.
