A court in Dhaka has sentenced Md Rifatul Haque, a Senior Officer and Cash In-Charge at the Bangshal branch of Dhaka Bank Limited, to a total of 20 years of rigorous imprisonment across three cases for embezzling nearly Tk3.77 crore from the bank vault.
The court also imposed fines totalling Tk4 lakh in addition to ordering the full recovery of the misappropriated sum.
Judge Md Ibrahim Mia of the Special Judge Court-6 of Dhaka delivered the verdict on Thursday.
The bench assistant of the relevant court, Fakir Md Zahidul Islam, confirmed the ruling.
According to the details of the judgment, the convict was handed 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Tk3,77,66,000 — an amount equal to the sum embezzled — for criminal breach of trust.
Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional one year of simple imprisonment.
The court directed that the entire fine amount be handed over to Dhaka Bank Limited as compensation.
In addition, the court sentenced him to five years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Tk2 lakh (with an additional one year of simple imprisonment in default) for fraud.
He was awarded another five-year term of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Tk 2 lakh (with an additional one year of simple imprisonment in default) for criminal misconduct under the Corruption Prevention Act.
The court specified in its verdict that the primary prison terms will run consecutively, meaning the convict must serve a total of 20 years (10+5+5 years) in prison.
However, the time he has already spent in custody during the investigation and trial phases will be deducted from his overall sentence.
Following the delivery of the verdict, the court ordered that the convict be sent to jail accompanied by a conviction warrant.
