Trial of businessman, bank official begins in Tk72cr embezzlement case

The trial of Chattogram businessman Abu Saeed Chowdhury Samrat and former executive vice-president and Khatunganj branch manager of Jamuna Bank, Manjurul Ahsan Chowdhury, started in a Chattogram court on Wednesday in the Tk72 crore embezzlement case.

Court sources said Abu Saeed Chowdhury Samrat – proprietor of umbrella manufacturing company Siddique Traders and food company Siddique Food Limited – opened an LC (letter of credit) with Jamuna Bank's Khatunganj branch in 2012 to import 20,000 tonnes of wheat from Australia.

But Samrat, with the help of Manjurul, embezzled the whole amount in the name of Saeed Food Limited Company in three phases from 2011 to 2015, by violating the conditions of the bank's grant letter.

Following the allegations, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) started an investigation and found the allegations to be true. On 30 July 2017, the ACC filed a case against them with Kotwali Police Station in the port city.

On 19 September that year, the court ordered authorities concerned to arrest them and send them to jail.

Both accused were present in court during the hearing on Wednesday.

Court sources also said that Samrat has taken Tk550 crore from different banks at different times in the name of Siddique Food, but in a short time, he became a loan defaulter. Samrat ranks 17 in the list of top defaulters of the country. Several cases have been filed against him.