Chattogram: A Chattogram court on Wednesday framed charges against 36 people including former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury in a case filed over laundering money. Judge of the Chattogram Special Judge Court Mizanur Rahman Khan framed the charges and fixed April 5 for beginning the trial, said public prosecutor of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Mokarram Hossain. The court also issued warrants for the arrest of 28 people including Saifuzzaman in the case. Among the 36 accused, eight accused are in jail.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the ACC filed a case on July 24 last year against Saifuzzaman and 35 others for allegedly siphoning off Tk 25 crore abroad in the name of loans. The prosecution alleges that the offences were committed between August 2018 and 2020 at various locations, including the Port Branch of United Commercial Bank PLC in Chattogram and the bank’s head office in Dhaka.
Investigation revealed that Mohammad Forman Ullah Chowdhury, protocol officer of Aramit Limited, a company owned by Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, was presented as a businessman and shown as the proprietor of a paper-based firm named Vision Trading. Using false information and forged documents, a current account was opened at the UCB Port Branch on October 13, 2019. Later, on February 13, 2020, an application was submitted seeking a Tk 25 crore time loan for 180 days in the name of Vision Trading, claiming it would be used to purchase wheat, lentils, chickpeas, and yellow peas.
A joint committee of UCB’s Corporate Banking and Credit Risk Management divisions placed the loan proposal before the bank’s board of directors with 17 negative observations. Despite these concerns, the loan received final approval at the bank’s 448th board meeting on March 12, 2020. The funds were subsequently transferred to the accounts of Aramit Cement PLC and Aramit Thai Aluminium Limited, where about Tk 14.11 crore was used to settle previous liabilities.
The allegation also states that several employees of the Aramit Group withdrew Tk 9.41 crore in cash and smuggled the money abroad through hundi. ACC submitted chargesheet before the court against 36 people, including Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, his wife, and former UCB PLC chairman Rukumila Zaman.