report in Prothom Alo 14 Jan 2023
Awami League lawmaker Abdus Sobhan Miah alias Golap has purchased multiple homes in New York of the United States at a cost of USD 4 million.
But he did not declare the information during his parliamentary run in the previous election.
The organised crime and corruption reporting project (OCCRP), a global platform of investigative journalists, broke the news in a report published on its website on Friday.
According to the report, lawmaker Abdus Sobhan Miah began buying apartments in an upscale building in New York City’s Jackson Heights district in 2014. Over the next five years, his portfolio came to include nine properties, worth over USD 4 million in total.
Abdus Sobhan Miah was elected lawmaker from Madaripur-3 constituency in December 2018, with the ticket of Awami League. He was made the party’s central publication and publicity secretary in the council held on 24 December 2022. He had earlier served the party as its office secretary.
When the lawmaker was contacted over the phone to know his statement on the OCCRP report, he said, “I am now in my electorate in Madaripur. I will talk after learning the matter well on Saturday.”
The report noted that Abdus Sobhan Miah bought five condominiums, worth roughly USD 2.4 million at the time, in a Jackson Heights building featuring a concierge service, an outdoor pool, and covered parking, between 2014 and 2018. He also bought three more apartments, worth USD 680,000, in nearby co-op buildings.
New York property records show that all were purchased with cash. His wife, Gulshan Ara Miah, is also listed as an owner.
After Abdus Sobhan Miah was elected parliamentarian, he added another property in Jackson Heights — this time, a semi-detached house worth almost USD 1.2 million — in December 2019.
He, however, renounced his US citizenship on 15 August, 2019, according to official records, seven months after he was elected as a member of parliament.
https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/5ac1snut6k
