A court in Chattogram has sentenced five former Janata Bank officials to eight years in a case involving the embezzlement of Tk 3,39,81,000 from the bank 26 years ago.
In addition to the custodial sentences, the court imposed a fine of Tk 46 lakh on each convict, failing which they will have to serve an additional year in prison.
Chattogram Divisional Special Court Judge Md Mizanur Rahman delivered the verdict on Sunday.
The convicts are Md Abu Tayyub, Babul Chandra Majumder, Ranendra Bikash Saha, and Moslem Uddin – all former officials of the Sheikh Mujib Road Corporate Branch – and Md Said Hossain, a former senior principal officer (ID Recon) at the bank’s head office.
According to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Public Prosecutor Advocate Md Enamul Islam, the charges were proven through the testimony of 12 witnesses and relevant documents.
All five convicts were absent during the delivery of the judgement, prompting the court to issue arrest warrants against them.
Meanwhile, the court acquitted Nurul Huda, another former official of the same branch, as the allegations against him were not proven. The proceedings against another accused, Abu Bakar Siddique, remain stayed pending the settlement of a rule.
According to case documents, several officials of the Sheikh Mujib Road Corporate Branch, in collusion with certain customers, illegally transferred funds from various bank accounts.
The money was subsequently withdrawn and embezzled through various current and STD (Short Term Deposit) accounts.
The embezzlement of Tk 3,39,81,000 was unearthed during an investigation by a special inspection team.
The irregularities took place between 1 January, 1999 and 29 March, 2000. On 6 April, 2000, Md Abul Kashem Mia, the then deputy general manager of that branch, filed a case with Double Mooring Police Station.
Following the investigation, the charge sheet was submitted to the court on 14 June, 2011. The trial officially commenced on 6 March, 2013, with the framing of charges against the accused.
