Md Mahabub Alam :
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has launched an inquiry into the alleged complaint that Major General (retd) Jalal Uddin Ahmed embezzled Tk 82 crore through the Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society, a MLM company, sources said.
The general plundered the amount deposited by about 1500 investors, alluring them of a good monthly return.
The ACC chairman has taken the complaint into cognizance and ordered investigation.
The anti-graft body knew it from a reliable source that Jalal Uddin Ahmed had already laundered part of the embezzled amount to other countries.
The investors put faith in him as he had retired from the Army as a major general. Many retired government officials and employees invested their pension money in the Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society.
The cooperative society officials assured them of paying Tk 2,000 as profit per month against the deposit of Tk one lakh. There was a promise that investors could withdraw their deposited amount at anytime.
In the year 2012, for the first time some depositors got disappointed, when retired major general Jalal did not return their principal amount with profit. He even dilly-dallied to give a date of payment, which roused doubt about his honesty.
Then the clients gathered in front of his residence near the Dhaka Cantonment on April 8.
Sensing magnitude of the situation, Jalal assured them of paying between July 1 and July 13 in 2013 in presence of some officials of army intelligence, military police, logistic area commander, station commander and provost marshal, Dhaka.
He issued several bank cheques amounting to Tk five crore to some depositors though there was no money in his account. Soon after it, the Cantonment Executive Officer seized his passport and called a board meeting where the alleged accused pledged of returning all deposited money in four phases. Since then, he went hiding.
Jalal picked up some retired Army officials to work with him in his organisation. Senior Warrant Officer (retd) Nurul Azam Mondal was appointed as Accounts Officer, Corporal (retd) Samsul Alam as Manager and Senior Warrant Officer Zakir Hossain as Loan Officer.
Jalal Uddin Ahmed retired from Bangladesh Army on December 31 in 2003. After retiring he and his wife Aleya Fatema started the organisation, which got registered on July 17 in 2005.
