A 51-year-old Australian man from Redbank Plains has been arrested and charged with attempting to bribe officials in Bangladesh following the death of his estranged wife overseas. Awlad Hossain is the first person charged under Australia's strengthened foreign bribery laws, enacted in 2024, for allegedly sending over $90,000 to people in Bangladesh to influence police investigations and remove his name from their records. The case has drawn significant attention as it represents a landmark prosecution under the new legislation.

According to federal police allegations, Hossain made multiple transfers totalling more than $90,000 over two years to associates in Bangladesh, instructing them to bribe officials to interfere with the criminal investigation into his wife's death. His estranged wife, Rehana Parvin, an Australian-Bangladeshi dual national, was found dead by Bangladeshi police in September 2024, just a day after Australian Federal Police began investigating her reported disappearance. Police have confirmed that the alleged bribery attempts were unsuccessful in influencing the investigation. Hossain has denied all involvement in both the bribery scheme and his wife's death, and remains in custody pending a bail application hearing scheduled for 16 October.