Court Correspondent :
A Dhaka court yesterday sentenced all 46 accused, including the Destiny 2000 Limited Managing Director (MD) Rafiqul Amin for swindling about Tk 4,11,9.24 12 under the Money Laundering Prevention Act.
Judge Shaikh Nazmul Alam of the Special Judge Court-4 of Dhaka delivered the verdict on Thursday.
Of the convicts, Rafiqul Amin was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment while Destiny-2000 Present and former army chief retired Lieutenant General Harun-Ar-Rashid to four years imprisonment. After the verdict was pronounced, Harun-Ar-Rashid was sent to the prison with necessary conviction warrant.
The court recorded the depositions of 202 prosecution witnesses, out of 303. During Thursday’s hearing, Rafiqul Amin and five others, were produced in the court from the jail. However, Harun-Ar-Rashid and two others, who were on bail in the case were present in the courtroom.
Rafiqul Amin’s wife Farah Diba and 36 are on the run.
On March 27, the court fixed May 12 to deliver the verdict as both prosecution and defense lawyers concluded their arguments in the case.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on July 31, 2012, filed two cases under the Money Laundering Prevention Act with the city’s Kalabagan Police Station.
The ACC on May 4, 2014, filed charge-sheets of the two cases for embezzling Tk4,119.24 crore of the investors. In one case, 46 people were made accused of misappropriating Tk1,861 crore under the cover of Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Project, while 19 people were accused of embezzling more than Tk 2,257 crore through Destiny Tree Plantation Limited (DTPL).
The court on August 24, 2016 framed charges in the two cases. Of the two cases, the court pronounced judgment in Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited case on Thursday.
