The High Court (HC) has ordered the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) to arrest 14 former officials of AB Bank Ltd and a businessman in seven days in connection with a Tk 176 crore embezzlement case.
The court also asked the authorities concerned to impose travel ban on the 15 accused, who are now on the run, so that they cannot leave the country.
The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice AKM Zahirul Huq issued the order on Tuesday (December 7) on a suo muto (voluntary) move during hearing a bail petition of two accused of the case -- Md Shahidul Islam and Abdur Rahim.
Advocate Golam Abbas Chowdhury stood for the accused in the court, while ACC Lawyer Advocate Khurshid Alam
Khan represented the ACC and Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik represented the state.
Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan said that the HC refused to grant bail to Shahidul Islam and Abdur Rahim, but issued a rule asking the ACC and government as to why they should not be granted bail in the case.
The ACC filed the case with its integrated office in Dhaka on June 9 this year against 17 people, including 16 former officials of AB Bank, on charges of corruption and embezzlement of money.
According to the case statement, the accused people forged signatures, abused their power by giving six fake work orders and seven illegal bank guarantees without the approval of the office, and took out loans worth Tk 176.18 crore from a principal branch of the bank. Later, they transferred the money to their personal funds.
The accused in the case are: Proprietor of Ershad Brothers Corporation Ershad Ali; former Executive Vice-President (EVP) and Branch Manager (now retired) of AB Bank ABM Abdus Sattar; former AVP and Relationship Manager Abdur Rahim; SVP and former Relationship Manager Anisur Rahman; AVP Ruhul Amin and Shahidul Islam; EVP and Head of CRM at head office Wasika Afrazi; former VP Mufti Mustafizur Rahman; former SE VP and Head of CRM (now retired) Salma Akhter; AVP OCRM member of Head Office Mohammad Emarat Hassan Fakir; former Principal Officer of AB Bank (currently Principal Officer of Mutual Trust Bank) Touhidul Islam; member of SVP and CRM of AB Bank Shamim-e-Mershed; member of VP and CRM of the same bank at head Office Khandaker Rashed Anowar; member of AVP and CRM Sirajul Islam; VP and member of Credit Committee of AB Bank Mohammad Mahfuz-ul-Islam; former DMD and MD (now retired) and Head of Credit Committee of AB Bank Ltd (Head Office) Moshiur Rahman Chowdhury; former MD (now retired) AB Bank Shamim Ahmed Chowdhury.
