A Dhaka court is set to deliver its verdict today (Tuesday) in a graft case filed against former Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha and 10 others on charge of laundering Tk 4 crore from a bank.
Judge of Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 Sheikh Nazmul Alam will pronounce the verdict in the case.
Earlier on September 14, the special court fixed October 5 for pronouncement of the verdict after completion of the closing arguments in the case. Later, it was deferred to October 21 due to the illness of the judge.
The court again fixed November 9 (today) to pronounce the verdict in the graft case as the verdict was not ready to be announced on October 21.
According to the case statement, the accused arranged a fake loan of Tk 4 crore from the Gulshan branch of Farmers Bank (now Padma Bank) and transferred the amount to SK Sinha’s personal account through pay-order.
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SK Sinha later transferred the amount to another account in cash, cheques and pay-orders, which is a punishable offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
On July 10 in 2019, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the graft case for embezzling the amount from the bank. ACC Director Syed Iqbal Hossain filed the case at the commission’s District Integrated Office, Dhaka-1.
Apart from SK Sinha, the other accused in the graft case are-- former chairman of the audit committee of Farmers Bank Md Mahbubul Huque Chisty alias Babul Chisty, first vice-presidents Swapan Kumar Roy and Shafiuddin Ashkari, vice president Md Lutful Huque, former MD AKM Shameem, former SEVP Gazi Salahuddin, bank clients Md Shahjahan, Niranjan Chandra Saha, his uncle Ranajit Chandra Saha, and Ranajit’s wife Santri Roy.
Another accused named Md Ziauddin Ahmed was acquitted as he passed away. Among the accused, SK Sinha, Safiuddin Ashkari, Ranjit Chandra Saha and his wife Santri are absconding.
On December 8 in 2019, ACC Director Md Benjir Ahammad, also the investigation officer of the case, submitted a charge-sheet against the accused.
On January 5 in 2020, Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge KM Imrul Kayes
received the charge sheet. Later on August 13, the court framed the charges.
The trial began on August 13 last year through framing of the charges against the 11 accused.
