The High Court has granted bail to Destiny Group President and also former Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen (retd) Harun-Ar-Rashid who was sentenced to four years imprisonment by a trial court in a case filed on charge of embezzling Tk 18.61 billion.
The High Court bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat on Tuesday passed the order after hearing a bail petition filed by General Harun.
The court also asked the concerned officials to prepare paper book for hearing the appeal petition filed by the former Chief of Army Staff against his conviction.
Lawyers Yusuf Hossain Humayun and Robiul Alam Budu appeared in the court hearing on behalf of General Harun, while Deputy Attorney General A K M Amin Uddin Manik represented the state and lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan appeared for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Earlier on June 9, the High Court admitted the appeal petition for hearing filed by General Harun against his four years jail sentence in the case filed over embezzling Tk 18.61 billion through Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited.
However, the court on that day summarily rejected the bail petition filed by General Harun. It also called for all records of the case from the trial court and directed to prepare paper book for appeal hearing in the case.
On May 12 in 2022, a special court in Dhaka sentenced all the 46 accused, including Destiny Group President Gen Harun-Ar-Rashid and Managing Director Rafiqul Amin, to different terms of imprisonment in a case filed over embezzling Tk 18.61 billion through Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited.
Harun-Ar-Rashid was sentenced to four years imprisonment and fined Tk 35 million and Rafiqul Amin was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment and fined Tk 2.0 billion. The court awarded minimum imprisonment to the former Chief of Army considering his noble contribution to our great liberation war.
Judge of the Special Judge's Court-4 in Dhaka, Shaikh Nazmul Alam, delivered the verdict after concluding all the proceedings of the case.
The Anti-Corruption Commission on July 31, 2012, filed two cases under Money Laundering Prevention Act with capital's Kalabagan Police Station.
In one case, 46 people were accused of misappropriating Tk 18.61 billion under the cover of Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited Project, while in another case 19 people were accused of embezzling more that Tk 22.57 billion through Destiny Tree Plantation Project (DTPP).
The court on August 24, 2016 framed charges in the two cases. Of the two cases, the court pronounced the judgment in Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited case on May 12 this year.
