A local court on Tuesday issued a travel restriction prohibiting four individuals, including former Bangladesh High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Saida Muna Tasneem and her husband Touhidul Islam Chowdhury, from exiting the country amid ongoing corruption inquiries.

The two remaining individuals barred from foreign travel by the judicial directive are their sons, Alvi Azfar Chowdhury and Javed Opgenhaffen.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Court, presided over by Judge Md Shahjahan Kabir, delivered the ruling after approving a petition submitted by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

Case filings indicate that an investigation is currently probing Touhidul Islam Chowdhury, Saida Muna Tasneem and associated individuals regarding accusations of misappropriating roughly BDT 2,000 crore in loans from diverse banking entities and financial organizations through corrupt practices and collusion, alongside siphoning the funds overseas.

Presenting the request, the ACC petition stated, "A reliable source revealed during the investigation that the persons concerned might leave the country and flee abroad. Therefore, it was essential to impose a ban on their travel abroad in the interest of a proper investigation."

In a separate matter on the same day, the identical court placed a travel ban on Emma Claire Burton, a British national and wife of former education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel, following her failure to submit a financial statement.