Anti-Corruption Commission
HC upholds bdnews24.com editor’s bail order
The High Court (HC) on Thursday upheld the trial court’s order granting bail to bdnews24.com Editor-in-Chief Toufique Imrose Khalidi in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) accusing the journalist of amassing wealth illegally.
The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order after disposing of the rule seeking cancelation of the bail order.
Read more: Top court upholds bdnews24.com editor’s anticipatory bail order
However, he will have to seek permission from the trial court for going abroad.
Senior lawyer Yusuf Hussain Humayun, advocate Shahriar Kabir and barrister Mahbub Shafiq appeared for Khalidi in the court while Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan represented the ACC.
ACC Deputy Director Gulshan Anowar filed the case on July 30 in 2020.
According to the case statement, Khalidi has Tk 42 crore in different bank accounts which have no legal source.
On August 26, the High Court granted anticipatory bail to Khalidi for eight weeks.
Later, the ACC filed the petition with the Appellate Division challenging the HC order. However, the Appellate Division upheld the HC order on September 21.
Read more: HC grants bail to ex-LGRD minister’s APS in money laundering case
On October 20, Khalidi surrendered to Dhaka Senior Special Judge's Court and sought bail. After the hearing, the court granted him interim bail till November 25.
On November 25, the court granted him the permanent bail.
Later on December 8, 2020, following ACC’s petition seeking cancellation of the bail order, the HC issued a rule questioning why the bail granted to bdnews24.com rditor by the trial court should not be canceled.
ACC team visits Sonaimuri to investigate Upazila Election Office
The Anti-Corruption Commission ( ACC) on Sunday conducted a comprehensive drive on various irregularities-corruption complaints against the officers and employees of Upazila Election Office of Sonaimuri in Noakhali.
A team consisting of four members from the Coordinated Integrated office of ACC, Noakhali conducted enforcement operations.
During the drive, the team interacted with the service users under cover to get any adverse comments regarding the various irregularities of the election office.
Read more: ACC moves to sign deals with 8 nations to bring laundered money back
Even then the service receivers informed the team that there is no irregularity.
When the upazila election officer was asked about this, he said that he joined this office last September. He is aware and aware of this.
He assured the team that appropriate action will be taken regarding the complaint.
During the raid, the team searched for the alleged brokers in disguise but no such syndicate was found in the office at the time.
HC order granting bail to ex-NSU trustee MA Kashem stayed by SC
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Sunday stayed the HC order granting bail to ex-NSU trustee board member MA Kashem, in a case over laundering around Tk 304 crore in the name of buying land for the campus.
Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division Justice M Enayetur Rahim passed the order, said Advocate Khurshid Alam, a counsel of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The court also upheld the HC order granting bail to another former member of the trustee board Rehana Rahman in the case.
Advocates Murad Reza, Shah Manjurul Haque and Barrister Syed Ahmed Raza stood for the two accused.
Read more: HC grants conditional bail to 2 ex-NSU trustees
The High Court (HC) on November 10 granted conditional bail to Kashem and Rehana in the case.
They were granted bail on condition that they will not leave the country and not set foot on the NSU campus without permission, said Lawyer Shah Monjurul Hoque.
Back in August, the HC issued a rule seeking explanation as to why the two NSU trustee board members should not be granted bail in this case.
On May 22, the court ordered Shahbagh police to arrest four NSU trustees after rejecting their anticipatory bail pleas in the case.
The other accused trustees are- Benazir Ahmed and Muhammad Shahjahan.
On May 5, the ACC sued the chairman of the board of trustees of North South University (NSU) Azim Uddin Ahmed and five others for embezzling Tk 303.82 crore in the name of buying land for the campus.
Another accused is- Managing director of Ashalaya Housing and Developers Limited Amin Mohamed Hilali. ACC's Deputy Director Farid Ahmed Patwar filed the case.
The case states that over 9088 decimal land was bought in the name of permanent campus development of NSU with the consent of some members of the Board of Trustees bypassing the approval of the University Syndicate, University Grants Commission and the Ministry of Education.
They later withdrew cash from the buyer through cash checks in their own names and kept FDR in their own names.
They unjustly benefited themselves by committing illegal activities through misuse of power and embezzling university and government funds, according to the case.
In carrying out such illegal activities, they committed a punishable offence by resorting to fraud and forgery and exchanging commissions.
Revival of graft cases: BNP leaders say it’s a tactic to derail anti-govt movement
While the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has recently been gearing up its anti-government movement defying all sorts of obstacles, party leaders say the government is reviving some pending cases against the leaders and activists with a motive to derail the movement.
Some BNP leaders and lawyers say authorities may send some party leaders to jail to convey a message to the opposition party that they would not be spared ahead of the next general election.
But the government repeatedly denied such allegations by BNP in the past, saying that authorities do not influence courts.
Read Over 20 injured after police obstruct BNP volunteers’ march in Port City; 10 detained
Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, a member of BNP’s Standing Committee, told UNB that the government has become “very nervous” over the overall social, political and economic situation while there is pressure from the international community to restore democracy through an inclusive and credible election.
“The government has been failing to stop people’s participation in our rallies despite carefully-orchestrated obstacles against us. So, the government is desperate to reinforce their repressive acts to suppress us,” he said.
“But it’s clear from our recent successful rallies that such a political tactic will not work,” he said.
On Tuesday, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court cleared the way for a lower court to continue the trial involving graft charges against BNP Standing Committee Member Mirza Abbas. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case in 2007 on charges of amassing wealth illegally.
Read Bus owners threaten strike on Nov 4, 5 in Barishal ahead of BNP’s rally
The trial proceedings against Khandaker Mosharraf on charges of siphoning off Tk 90 million are also set to enter its final stage. The ACC filed the case in 2014, accusing him of making money illegally when he was the health minister from 2001-2006.
The ACC has also started an investigation against nine other people, including Standing Committee members Nazrul Islam Khan and Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, for suspicious transactions before the 11th parliamentary elections.
Lawyers loyal to BNP say the trials of many cases against BNP leaders and activists are going on with lower courts in Dhaka and elsewhere.
BNP says around 36 lakh BNP leaders and activists are now facing over one lakh cases. They say the charges are politically motivated.
Read: Thousands join as BNP’s Khulna rally starts earlier than scheduled
BFIU gets 3 months to sign legal pacts with 10 countries to bring back black money
The High Court has given Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) three months to sign mutual legal assistance (MLA) pacts with 10 countries for obtaining information and proof required to recover black money stashed abroad.
An HC bench of justices Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Khijir Hayat passed the order on Wednesday (October 26, 2022).
Deputy attorney general AKM Amin Uddin Manik appeared for BFIU, while advocate Khurshid Alam Khan represented the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Read: HC orders BFIU to form research cell to bring back laundered money
In a report submitted to the court on Tuesday, BFIU said that they had advised the Financial Institutions Division (FID) to sign MLA agreements with at least 10 countries to get necessary help in bringing back laundered money from abroad.
These countries are the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (UK), Canada, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Thailand and Hong Kong (China).
The report also said that "BFIU has asked Bangladesh Bank (BB) to recruit manpower for the proposed ‘Research Cell’ which will help in identifying money launderers and recovering the money."
Read Black money whitening got little response in FY 22: NBR data
According to the report, the recruitment process is currently ongoing.
The report added that the sixth meeting of the taskforce, led by the attorney general and formed to recover laundered money, took place on January 3, 2022.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Home Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, FID, ACC, BFIU and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Bangladesh Police.
Read Finance bill 2022 passed with limits on proposal to whiten black money
It was decided at the meeting that urgent steps needed to be taken to identify the launderers and bring back black money stashed in foreign banks.
The High Court on August 31 ordered the head of Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit to form a research cell to prevent money laundering, bring back laundered money, monitor and control it.
Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit head Md Masud Biswas was also directed to submit a progress report regarding the formation of Research Cell by the next hearing set to be held on October 26.
On August 10, the Swiss ambassador in Dhaka Nathalie Chuard said that they have been providing the Bangladesh government with all information regarding deposits of Bangladeshi money in Swiss banks, "but no request has been submitted regarding any particular account".
On August 11, the High Court bench ordered the government and the Anti-Corruption Commission to explain why the government did not seek information of deposits of Bangladesh money stashed in Swiss banks.
On August 14, Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit was asked to submit a report in this regard in the affidavit form.
On August 21, following the High Court order, Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit's report was submitted stating that the information regarding deposits of 67 Bangladeshis in various Swiss banks was sought from the authorities concerned in Bern.
ACC investigation into Grameen Telecom underway
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Monday sent a letter to Grameen Telecom after starting an investigation into the alleged misappropriation of money.
The ACC sent a letter on Sunday (July 31) asking for the information of four members of the board of directors of Grameen Telecom including Muhammad Yunus.
Earlier, ACC Secretary Mahabub Hossain informed that the ACC has started an inquiry against the board of directors of Grameen Telecom.
An inquiry committee has been formed to investigate the allegation, he added.
Read: ACC to grill Shilpakala Academy DG on Jan 16
According to sources of ACC, ACC Director Syed Iqbal Hossain has been appointed as the supervising officer in the investigation committee while deputy director Gulshan Anwar Pradhan has been made the team head and the other members are assistant director Jasmine Akhtar and Noore Alam Siddiqui.
Alongside, the four members of the board of directors have been asked to know various information.
The ACC is investigating the charges against them, including misappropriation of 5 percent of the dividend reserved for distribution among workers, illegal deduction of 6 percent as advocate fees and other fees while paying workers' dues, interest allocated to workers' welfare fund, embezzlement of Tk 45 crore 52 lakh 13 thousand without distribution and embezzlement by transfer of Tk 2977 crore from the company to the bank accounts of various subsidiaries for the purpose of money laundering.
ACC appeals to HC to increase sentence of 45 Destiny executives
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has appealed to the High Court (HC) to increase the tenure of the sentence of 45 executives including Lt Gen (retd) Harun-Ar-Rashid of Destiny Multipurpose Co-Operative Society Ltd. and Destiny Tree Plantation Project in a money embezzlement case.
ACC counsel Khurshid Alam Khan pleaded for a hearing before the bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Kazi Md. Ejarul Haque Akondo on Sunday.
Khurshid Alam said,” Destiny Group Managing Director Rafiqul Amin has been awarded 12 years imprisonment and the other 45 executives have been given lower punishment. But this is an organised crime. There is no chance of a difference in punishment. That is why we have appealed to the court to increase their penalty term except for Rafiqul Amin. The court has directed the individuals concerned to include this appeal on the cause list on Monday. I Hope, the hearing will be held this week.”
Also read: Issue red alerts for arrest of 39 fugitives in Destiny scam case: HC
On May 12, a Dhaka court sentenced all 46 accused, including Destiny Group Managing Director Rafiqul Amin and Destiny-2000 president Lt Gen Harun (retd), to different terms of imprisonment in the money laundering case and fined Tk 2,300 crore.
On 31 July 2012, two separate cases were filed with the Kalabagan police station against Rafiqul and other officials of Destiny on the allegation of embezzling money from the investors in the name of Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society and Destiny Tree Plantation Limited and laundering it.
Also read: HC passes split order on granting bail to Destiny Group director
On Thursday last, the HC directed the authorities concerned to take necessary steps to bring to justice 39 fugitives convicted in the case filed for embezzling Tk 4,000 crore from Destiny Group subscribers.
ACC case against Nazmul Huda to continue as HC rejects plea
The High Court on Tuesday rejected a petition filed by Barrister Nazmul Huda seeking cancelation of the trial proceedings of a case filed against him by the Anti-Corruption Commission for bringing false allegations against former chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha.
It also asked the lower court concerned to dispose of the case within six months.
Also read:Court grants bail to Barrister Nazmul Huda in case involving ex-CJI Sk Sinha
Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo passed the order after hearing the petition.
As per the court order, there is no bar to continue the case against Nazmul Huda, a former communications minister, in the lower court, said deputy attorney general AKM Amin Uddin.
Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan represented the ACC.
On Monday, Nazmul filed a petition seeking cancelation of the trial proceedings of the case.
Huda lodged a complaint against SK Sinha at Shahbagh Police on September 27, 2018, alleging that the verdict in a case settled against him during the tenure of the former caretaker government was changed and bribery demanded.
He claimed that Sinha demanded a bribe of Tk 3.25 crore to dismiss the case. However, after investigation for a year and a half the ACC did not find any evidence in Huda's allegation.
Also read: ACC okays charge-sheet against Nazmul Huda, his wife
On February 20, 2020, ACC director Syed Iqbal Hossain lodged a counter complaint against Huda for making false allegations against SK Sinha.
In 2021, ACC director ,also the investigating officer of the case, submitted a chargesheet against him.
On November 9, 2021, a Dhaka special court sentenced Sinha to 11 years in jail for laundering Tk. 4 crore borrowed from Farmers Bank, now Padma Bank. He now lives abroad.
Loan scam: 7 ex-Sonali Bank officials, 2 others get 17 years jail
A Dhaka court on Wednesday sentenced nine people including a former Managing Director of Sonali Bank to 17 years jail in a case filed over embezzling Tk 27.5 lakh from the state owned bank.
Judge Md Iqbal Hossain, Judge of Dhaka Special Judge Court -5 passed the order.
Also read:Sonali Bank writes off Tk 2,728 crore of Hall-Mark, 19 other defaulters
The convicts are—former Sonali Bank MD Humayun Kabir, deputy managing director (DMD) Mainul Haque, GM Noni Gopal Nath, DGMs Sheikh Altaf Hossain and Safiz Uddin Ahmed, AGMs Quamrul Hossain Khan and Saiful Hasan and Managing Director of Paragon Knit Composit Limited, Saiful Islam Raza and its director Abdullah Al Mamun.
Of them, Mainul, Safiz, Altaf, Quamrul Hossain were present during the judgment while the others tried in absentia.
The court sentenced the convicts ten years imprisonment on charge of embezzling the money and fined them Tk 27.50 lakh.
Besides, the court also sentenced them seven years jail on charge of fraudulence under another section of the relevant law.
The court also fined them Tk 50,000 each and they have to suffer three months more in rigorous imprisonment if they fail to five the fined money.
Also read:Fake freedom fighter's certificates scam: ACC sues Sonali Bank DGM
On January 1, 2013, deputy director of Anti-Corruption Commission Mujibur Rahman lodged a complaint against them with Ramna Model Police for embezzling Tk 27,50,681.
On May 22, 2014, ACC assistant Director Mashiur Rahman submitted a chargesheet against them after investigation.
The convicts were also accused in Hall-Mark Scam case.
HC directs ACC to identify those involved in money laundering through e-commerce
The High Court (HC) on Monday directed the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to identify the persons who are allegedly involved in the money laundering and determine the amount of the laundered money through e-commerce.
The court also directed the anti-corruption watchdog to identify those responsible for the serious loss of the e-commerce customers.
An HC bench comprising Justice Md. Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order with rule during a hearing taking cognizance of the three petitions in this regard.
Barrister Humaiyun Kabir Pallab, Mohammad Shishir Monir, and Anwarul Islam Badhon filed the writ petitions with the High Court while Deputy Attorney General Bipul Bagmar stood for the state.
Also Read: HC orders disposal of ex-MP Bodi’s graft case in 1 yr
Humaiyun Kabir Pallab told journalists that the court also directed the Ministry of Commerce to collect information about the loss of the consumers of the e-commerce companies. Besides, it also issued a rule on why it should not be declared illegal the inactions by the defendants to fix the responsibility of the financial scam.
Lawyer Mohammad Shishir Monir said the financial scam happened due to the inactiveness of the Ministry of Commerce, Bangladesh Competition Commission, and Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection. The defendants have to answer to the court within four weeks of the rule.
On September 20, 2021, lawyer Anwarul Islam Badhon filed a writ to establish an independent e-commerce regulatory body according to the national digital commerce police mandate to keep the interest of the customers and their rights.