A special court in Chattogram on Wednesday sentenced three individuals, including a former official of Pubali Bank Limited, to varying terms of imprisonment and imposed heavy fines in cases involving the embezzlement of bank funds through fraud.
Judge Mizanur Rahman of the Chattogram Divisional Special Judge’s Court delivered the verdict. The convicted individuals are Sirajul Islam, a former senior principal officer (manager) of Pubali Bank Ltd, Abu Daud Chowdhury Ripon, and Md Shah Alam.
In one case, the court sentenced Sirajul Islam to a total of six years of rigorous imprisonment – comprising five years under Section 409 of the Penal Code and one year under Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
He was also fined Tk39 lakh, with an additional six months of imprisonment in default of payment. The other two convicts, Abu Daud Chowdhury (Ripon) and Md. Shah Alam, were each sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Tk39 lakh.
The court also handed down identical prison sentences to the three convicts in a second, similar case. In that instance, each individual was fined Tk1,138,140. All three convicts are currently absconding, and the court has issued arrest warrants against them in accordance with the sentencing.
According to the case documents, while posted at the Cox’s Bazar branch, Sirajul Islam abused his authority to provide illegal overdraft facilities to customers despite there being insufficient funds in their accounts.
Through this malpractice, approximately Tk3,414,422 was withdrawn via 10 cheques in 1998, and a further Tk1.17 crore was taken through four cheques in 1999. The prosecution successfully proved that these funds were subsequently embezzled.
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) lawyer Mokarram Hossain stated that the charges of mutual collusion, fraud, and embezzlement were proven through evidence and testimony. During the trial, the defendants claimed they were innocent and filed for acquittal, but the court rejected their petitions.
