Staff Reporter:
A Dhaka court on Thursday convicted and sentenced four former officials of Dhaka Bank Limited to a combined 20 years’ imprisonment in a case lodged over criminal breach of trust, forgery, and misappropriation of funds.
The four convicts are Mohammad Shawkat Ali, Probir Kumar Bhowmik, Abu Mohammad Said Khan and Kazi Farid Uddin Ahmed.
Judge Md Hasanuzzaman of Dhaka Special Judge Court-1 pronounced the judgment in presence of the three convicts, as Shawkat is still at large and was tried in absentia.
The court sentenced the four to 10-year imprisonment under Section 409 of the Penal Code, five years imprisonment under Section 471 of the Penal Code and five more years of jail under Section 5 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.
All the three sentences of jail will, however, run concurrently, meaning the convicts will have to suffer 10 years behind bars, bench official Rajib Dey said.
According to the prosecution, one Mohammad Yusuf Ali opened an account with Dhaka Bank on 4 November 2002. Following his application, the bank approved a loan of Tk17 lakh in his name.
As collateral, he pledged 1,000 shares of Confidence Cement Limited and 7,500 shares of Meghna Cement Limited.
Later, Yusuf Ali’s request, the loan limit was increased from Tk17 lakh to Tk24 lakh.
Subsequent verification of the pledged shares revealed that they were forged. The prosecution alleged that Yusuf Ali fraudulently submitted fake and forged share certificates as collateral to secure the loan and then misappropriated the funds.
According to the case documents, accused Shawkat Ali identified Yusuf Ali at the time of opening the bank account and, with dishonest intent, assisted him in the process. The prosecution alleged that the two acted in collusion to misappropriate the bank’s funds.
The case was filed with Motijheel Police Station on 31 May 2008 by Sirajul Haque, then Senior Vice President of Dhaka Bank.
On 22 August 2023, Assistant Director of Anti-Corruption Commission Kamiyab Aftahi-Un-Nabi submitted a charge sheet against the four. The court framed charges against them on 16 January 2025, formally commencing the trial. During the proceedings, 14 prosecution witnesses testified before the court.
