Staff Reporter:
A Dhaka court on Thursday framed charges against former minister and senior Awami League leader Tofail Ahmed and two others in a graft case filed over allegations of embezzling Tk1.25 crore through abuse of power.
Dhaka Divisional Special Judge Begum Shamima Afroz passed the order after rejecting the defence petitions seeking discharge from the case.
The court also fixed 22 June for recording witness testimonies, Tofail Ahmed’s lawyer, Md Khair Uddin Sikdar, said.
The other accused in the case are Mohammad Anwarul Islam, chief accountant of Madonna Advertising Limited, and Mosharraf Hossain, who hails from Bhola. Among them, Mosharraf Hossain was present in court, while the other two accused remain absconding.
Earlier, on 19 April, the court issued arrest warrants against Tofail Ahmed and the other fugitive accused.
According to the case documents, Tofail Ahmed abused his power to conceal illegally acquired funds amounting to Tk1.25 crore through associates. In collusion with the other accused, he transferred and withdrew the money at different times from a bank.
Anti-Corruption Bureau Inspector Kazi Shamsul Islam filed the case in 2002 over the allegations. A charge sheet was subsequently submitted against the three accused.
However, proceedings in the case remained suspended for a long period following an order from the High Court after the Awami League government came to power. The case was reportedly revived after the fall of the Hasina-led government on 5 August 2024.
