Has ex-FM Hasan Mahmud fled to Belgium?

The former foreign minister and Awami League Joint General Secretary Hasan Mahmud has left the country for Belgium before the travel ban imposed on a number of ministers including him, claimed a Chattogram-based media and a national private TV channel.

Hasan served as the general secretary of the Belgium chapter of AL from 1995 until he returned home in 2001. His brother also lives in Belgium.

Hasan, who was also information minister, first confirmed it to C-Plus TV and Chatga News on 31 August while talking to Alamgir Apu, editor-in-chief of the two Chattogram-based media outlets.

Alamgir claimed that he had received a phone call from Hasan Mahmud at 10:27pm on 31 August when the former minister confirmed he is abroad now.

Meanwhile, Independent Television in its report on Friday claimed that Hasan is now staying with his family in Belgium.

From there, he is also talking on the mobile phone with his close friends in Dhaka and Chattogram, said the private television.

Following the ACC's application, six days after he left the country, the court banned Hasan Mahmud from leaving the country on 2 September.

Some of the TV channels reported that Hasan was detained at Dhaka's Shahjalal International Airport on 6 August which many see as rumours.

Hasan did not go directly to Belgium from Dhaka but he first went to Germany's Dusseldorf Airport via Dubai on an Emirates flight on 26 August, Independent TV said.

From there, General Secretary of the German branch of Awami League, Mubarak Ali Bhuiyan Bakul, drove him by road to Belgium.

"He (Hasan) called me on 31 August around 10:30pm. He may have realised his mistake and called me and expressed his regret," Independent TV quoted Alamgir Apu as saying.

During the telephone conversation, Alamgir Apu said he (Hasan) expressed his regret for stopping the broadcast of C-Plus for some time.

Earlier, Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) instructed all banks in the country to freeze accounts of former Foreign Minister Hasan and his family members.

On 2 September, a Dhaka court issued a travel ban on 26 people, including 18 former ministers and state ministers, over the corruption allegations against them.

Of the 26, nine former ministers are Hasan Mahmud of foreign affairs; Imran Ahmed of expatriates' welfare; Tipu Munshi of commerce; Anisul Huq of law; Tazul Islam of local government; Faridul Haque Khan of religious affairs; Hasanul Haque Inu of information; Golam Dastgir Gazi of textiles and jute; Anwar Hossain Manju of environment.

Hasan is also facing a number of cases following the fall of Sheikh Hasina-led previous government.