Trial of ex-chief justice Sinha begins in money laundering case

The formal trial proceedings of former justice Surendra Kumar Sinha and 10 others in Tk4 crore money laundering case has started in a Dhaka court on Tuesday.  

The trial began with the complainant's deposition in the court of Judge Shaikh Nazmul Alam of the Special Judge Court 4 of Dhaka.   

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Director Syed Iqbal Hossain, also the plaintiff in the case, testified before the court in the case. The court has set August 25 for the next hearing.

On August 13, the same court had ordered to frame charges against 11 accused, including SK Sinha, over laundering of Tk4 crore from The Farmers Bank Ltd (currently known as the Padma Bank).

The other accused in the case are – former audit committee chairman of Farmers Bank Mahbubul Haque Chisty (Babul Chisty), former managing director of the bank AKM Shamim, former SEVP of the bank Gazi Salahuddin, first vice-president of the bank Swapan Kumar Roy, first vice-president Safi Uddin Askari, vice-president Md Lutful Haque, Md Shahjahan, a resident of Tangail, Niranjan Chandra Saha from the same area in Tangail, Ranjit Chandra Saha and his wife Santri Roy.

On July 10, 2019, ACC director Syed Iqbal Hossain filed the case. ACC director Benazir Ahmed submitted the charge-sheet on December 9 of the same year after investigation.

Taking the charge-sheet into cognisance, filed by the ACC on January 5, the court issued arrest warrants against the 11 accused, including SK Sinha.