The Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Friday sent former Janata Bank chairman Professor Abul Barkat to jail in connection with a case filed on charges of embezzling Tk 297 crore.
On February 20, Anti-Corruption Commission deputy director Md Nazmul Hossain filed the case against 23 people, including Barkat, former Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman and AnonTex Group chairman Md Yunus Badal, on charges of the embezzlement.
Metropolitan magistrate Md Jewel Rana on Friday passed the order after ACC assistant director Mohammad Shahjahan Miraj, also the investigating officer of the case, produced Barkat before the court with a three-day remand petition for interrogation.
Defence lawyers also submitted a petition seeking bail for Barkat in the graft case.
However, the court did not hear both the remand and bail petitions on the day.
ACC deputy director for public relations Aktarul Islam said that the commission sought three days of remand for Barkat in the graft case, but the court sent him to jail without hearing the remand petition.
The hearing on the remand petition would be held later, he added.
Earlier, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police鈥檚 Detective Branch arrested Barkat at his house on Dhanmondi Road in the capital Dhaka at about 11:30pm on July 10.
Barkat was appointed chairman of Janata Bank on September 9, 2009, for a three-year term, while he was also the chairman of the economics department at Dhaka University.
He was also the president of the Bangladesh Economic Association, a body of professional economists in Bangladesh.
He served Janata Bank as chairman for two consecutive terms until September 2014. During his tenure, Janata Bank 鈥� once among the better-performing banks 鈥� saw a significant decline in its financial health.
The other accused in the graft case are former Bangladesh Bank deputy governor Abu Hena Mohammad Razi Hasan and its former assistant director Ismat Ara Begum,聽 former Janata Bank managing director Abdus Salam Azad, former directors Jamal Uddin Ahmed, Md Imdadul Haque, Nagibul Islam Dipu, RM Debnath, Md Abu Naser and Sangeeta Ahmed, director Nitai Chandra Nath, former deputy general manager Azmul Haque, former AGM Ajay Kumar Ghosh, former manager Md Golam Azam, executive engineer Md Shahjahan, SEO Md Emdadul Haque, former DGM Md Abdul Jabbar, former DMD Md Golam Faruk, and former DMD Omar Faruk, M/S Suprabh Spinning Limited managing director Md Anwar Hossain, and director Md Abu Talha.
According to the case statement, Suprabh Spinning, Anwar and Talha took Tk聽297.38 crore in loan from Janata Bank through fraud and forgery, laundering the funds in collusion with the other 21 accused.
Despite no actual factory or structure existing on the mortgaged land, the duo overvalued the land and property at Tk聽609.89 crore, and with the assistance of other accused, obtained a loan amount of Tk聽297.38 crore, which was subsequently embezzled, the statement said.
Salam, Azmul, Ajoy, Azam, Shahjahan and Emdadul in collusion with each other helped the accused Anwar and Talha to forge records, bypass regulations and help facilitate the illegal loan approval process, it said.
Accused Jabbar, Golam Faruk, and Omar Faruk, although stating that the proposed loan approval would violate the related rules and guidelines, presented a memorandum to the board for approval of the loan with the intention of obtaining Bangladesh Bank鈥檚 clearance, thereby helping Anwar and Talha to secure the loan, it said.
Yunus Badal has been charged with embezzling Tk聽50.5 crore out of a sanctioned loan of Tk聽180 crore in favour of Suprabh Spinning by receiving the money in the accounts under his Anontex Group.
Despite knowing about the rule violation, Barkat, Jamal, Emdadul, Nagibul, Debonath, Naser, Sangita and Nitai aided and abetted in approving and distributing the loan, according to the case statement.
Atiur, Ismat and Abu Hena assisted the loan applicant by abusing power and violating banking rules, despite the loan application being for a new and relatively unknown businessman, it said.
