A Dhaka court has set 9 April for a hearing to decide whether former lawmaker Lt Gen (retd) Masud Uddin Chowdhury will be shown arrested in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The case concerns allegations of embezzlement involving the deployment of workers to Malaysia.
Deputy Director of ACC, Aminul Islam confirmed that Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court’s acting judge Mohammad Moin Uddin Chowdhury set the date for the hearing.
ACC Deputy Director Abul Kalam Azad filed the application seeking Masud Uddin’s arrest.
The ACC alleges that Masud Uddin Chowdhury and others conspired to abuse their official powers for dishonest gain. The accused are said to have collected sums exceeding the government-approved amount of Tk78,990 per worker while acting as agents for recruiting Malaysian workers.
They allegedly exploited their influence with ruling party MPs to secure extra payments unlawfully.
According to the ACC, the syndicate caused financial harm to 7,124 recruited workers and embezzled a total of Tk119.33 crore through illegal collection of passports, health tests, and additional fees.
The case, lodged on March 11, cites sections 120(b), 161, 162, 163, 164, 165(a), 420, 409, and 109 of the Penal Code, along with sections 4(2) and 4(3) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012 and section 5(2) of the Anti-Corruption Act 1947.
The ACC noted that granting bail to Masud Uddin could impede the investigation, making his arrest essential for a fair inquiry.
Earlier, on Tuesday, the court granted a five-day remand in a separate human trafficking case against Masud Uddin.
The complaints of syndicate-led embezzlement and human trafficking were filed by Altab Khan, proprietor of Afia Overseas, at Paltan police station on September 3.
Masud Uddin was arrested from his residence in Baridhara DOHS on Monday night, and police subsequently sought his custody under the ongoing case.
