Court sets 23 Oct for order on accepting charges against BASIC Bank ex-chairman, 13 others

A Dhaka court on Monday set 23 October for its order whether it will accept the charges brought against former chairman of BASIC Bank Abdul Hye Bacchu and 13 others in a Tk23-crore embezzlement case lodged by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

The other accused of the bank are: Terminated managing directors Kazi Fakhrul Islam and Shah Alam Bhuiyan; deputy managing directors Fazlus Sobhan and A Monayem Khan; assistant general managers Jalal Uddin, ASM Anisur Rahman Chowdhury, Sadia Akter Shahin and Rumana Ahad; and former general manager Mohammad Ali Chowdhury.

Besides, Ahmed Oil Mills Limited Managing Director Ashraf Ahmed and Director Nasrin Jahan Ratna; and SD Service Farm Managing Partner Iqbal Hossain Bhuiyan and principal surveyor and partner Mohammad Faruk were also accused the case.

Among them, Mohammad Ali, Iqbal Hossain Bhuiyan, and Fazlus Sobhan are currently on bail, while the others, including Bacchu, are on the run.

The ACC on 22 September, 2015, lodged the case with the Paltan Police Station accusing 11 people. Later the names of Bacchu and Shah Alam were added to the accused list.

According to the case statement, the accused bank officials sanctioned a loan of Tk23 crore to Ahmed Oil Mills Limited Managing Director Ashraf Ahmed and Director Nasrin Jahan Ratna on June 26, 2012, without scrutinising any documents submitted on behalf of the company. This entire amount was later embezzled.

Between 2009 and 2013, the ACC filed 59 cases against several bankers and loan recipients involved in a scam of Tk5,000 crore with BASIC Bank. Bacchu was implicated in 58 of the cases.