Staff Reporter :
The High Court on Tuesday ordered the law enforcing agencies to arrest the seven absconding accused, including Bismillah Group managing director Khawza Solaiman Anwar Chowdhury, his wife and the Chairperson of the company Nowrin Habib, within a week and to produce them in the trial court in a case filed by Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The court also asked the law enforcers to issue a red alert through Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, if the accused have already fled the country.
Inspector General of Police (IGP), Director General of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner have been asked to submit a compliance report in the court on April 5, 2020 on what steps have been taken in this regard.
The High Court Bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice KM Hafizul Alam passed the order while holding hearing on a bail petition filed by another accused of the case, SM Shoaibul Kabir.
Advocate SM Shahjahan appeared in the court on behalf of the petitioner, Barrister Hassan MS Azim appeared for the Anti-Corruption Commission and Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik stood for the State.
A Dhaka court on September 10, 2018 sentenced nine Bismillah Group executives, including its Managing Director Khawza Solaiman Anwar Chowdhury, his wife and Chairperson of the company Nowrin Habib, to ten years’ rigorous imprisonment in a case filed over laundering Tk 153.3 million.
This is the first verdict among the 12 cases filed against Bismillah Group for money laundering and corruption.
Judge of the Special Judge’s Court-10 of Dhaka, Md Atabullah, announced verdict in absence of the convicts.
The other convicts are: Shafiqul Anwar Chowdhury, Akbar Aziz Muttakin, Abul Hashem Chowdhury, Riazuddin Ahmed, Akhter Hossain, Mustaque Ahmed Khan and SM Shoaibul Kabir.
After the verdict, two accused including SM Soaibul Kabir surrendered in the trial court and sought bail which was rejected. Then Shoaibul Kabir moved to the High Court.
During the hearing his bail petition, the court ordered law enforcing agencies to arrest the seven absconding accused within one week, said Barrister Hassan MS Azim.
In November 2013, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case with New Market Police Station accusing the Group’s nine officials of laundering Tk 153.3 million.
A total of 12 cases were filed against 54 officials of the company on charges of fraud, money laundering and corruption.
The ACC pressed charges against them in 2015 and the court started the trial in 2016 after taking the chargesheet into cognizance. All the accused were absconding during the trial.
