6 NSU trustees face travel ban over Tk303cr graft charge
A Dhaka court has imposed travel restrictions on six trustees of North South University (NSU) in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for embezzling Tk303.82 crore.
They are Azim Uddin Ahmed, chairman of the board, Amin Mohammad Hilali, managing director of Ashaloy Housing and Developers Limited and four trustee board members MA Kashem, Benazir Ahmed, Rehana Rahman, and Mohammad Shahjahan.
ACC Court Inspector Aminul Islam told media the court of Dhaka Senior Special Judge KM Imrul Kayes passed the order on Tuesday (May 24) in response to an application by the anti-graft body.
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Earlier on Sunday, the High Court rejected the bail pleas of four North South University trustees — Kashem, Benazir, Rehana, and Shahjahan, who applied for anticipatory bail to avoid arrest in the case.
On 5 May, ACC Deputy Director Md Farid Ahmed Patwari filed a case against six people, including the chairman of the university's board of trustees, for embezzling Tk303.82 crore in the course of purchasing land for the university.
Besides the four members of the Board of Trustees, Azim Uddin Ahmed, chairman of the board, and Amin Mohammad Hilali, managing director of Ashaloy Housing and Developers Limited, were also charged.
According to the case statement, the money was embezzled under the guise of campus development with the consent of a few members of the trustee board, without informing the University Syndicate, the University Grants Commission, and the Ministry of Education.
The allegation against them is that despite actually buying the land at a lower price, for the nefarious purpose of embezzling money, they recorded a higher purchase price only to take cash in a kickback from the seller in fixed deposit accounts (FDR) which they later wholly withdrew.
The Board of Trustees is the highest governing body of North South University under the Private Universities Act, 2010.
