ACC sues Tarique’s friend Mamun, ex-Sonali Bank MD, GMs, DGMs
PBC News: The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a graft case against 21 persons including convicted BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman’s close friend and One Spinning Mills Limited’s managing director Gias Uddin Al Mamun.
The accused include the state-owned Sonali Bank’s former MD, GM and DGM.
ACC deputy director Suvash Chandra Dutt filed the case at ACC’s coordinated office, Dhaka-1. Earlier, the ACC gave approval of the case on Monday.
The case statement reads that the accused, in connivance with each other, embezzled more than Tk 32.50 crore of the state-owned Sonali Bank. The filing of the case was approved after the evidence was found against the accused during investigation.
In this regard, ACC secretary Mahbub Hossain said on November 4, 2004, the owners of Messrs One Spinning Mills Limited and officials of the head office and local office of Sonali Bank opened the letter of credit (LC) in connivance with each other. Then the company imported machinery worth Tk 32 crore 67 lakh 94 thousand 612 breaching the conditions of LC. But, they embezzled the money instead of repaying the money of bank.
He said the case was approved against them under Section 409/109 of the Bangladesh Penal Code and Section 5 (2) of the Corruption Prevention Act 1947.
The accused in the case are One Spinning Mills Ltd’s chairman Md Harun ar Rashid, managing director Gias Uddin Al Mamun, directors Md Nasir Uddin Mia, AHM Jahangir alias Abu Hasan Mohammad Jahangir, Rajib Siraj and Orion Mushroom Ltd’s director GR Chowdhury or Golam Rabbani Chowdhury.
The Sonali Bank officials who were sued in money embezzlement case are the bank’s head office’s former managing director (MD) Muhammad Tahmilur Rahman, deputy managing director (DMD) Md Amanullah, Sonali Bank local office’s former general managers (GMs) Md Mizanur Rahman and Md Shafiqur Rahman, Sonali Bank’s Industrial Credit Division’s former deputy general manager (local office) Khondker Mosharraf Ali and former deputy general manager (local office) Md Quamrul Islam.
Besides, former DGM of Foreign Exchange Division Abu Zafar Md Saleh, former AGM Md Ali Arshad, former AGMs of Foreign Exchange Division Md Abu Musa and Abdul Gafur Bhuiyan, Sonali Bank (local office) former principal officer Atiqur Rahman and SMM Awlad Hossain, Foreign Exchange Division’s former princiapl officer Md Abdur Razzaque, former senior assistant principal officer Wahid Uddin Ahmed and former senior officer (FA) Md Shah Alam have been made accused in the case.
Tarique Rahman’s friend and business partner Giasuddin Al Mamun was arrested on January 31, 2007 amid emergency. Since then he has been in jail. However, he was released on parole for four hours after his mother’s death on September 26, 2019.
There are 20 cases involving extortion, corruption, money laundering and evasion of taxes are pending against Mamun. The special judge court-3 of Dhaka awarded Mamun 7-year jail sentence on charge of laundering Tk 20 crore abroad on April 24, 2019. At the same time, the court fined him Tk 12 crore.
